Playing the game
by SonnyChadFan
Summary: It symbolised a promise.A promise to always love, to always care.To protect and defend.A commitment.And out of everyone, he chose her.Or did he? Because you see, if Chad could play games with her,she didn't see why she couldn't beat him at his own game.AU
1. The Game Begins

**Playing the Game**

**Prologue: The Game Begins

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**Hi everyone. This is really different from my usual stories, but I decided to give this a go. Anyways, I hope you like it.

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Five short months ago, Chad Dylan Cooper proposed. Something everyone thought was impossible, unimaginable for the former Hollywood star and player. He vowed he was ready to settle down, to put his mischievous teenage ways behind him. He told her that, he swore, as he slid the shining ring onto her finger. They were linked, like puzzle pieces, and for years the puzzle sat there, waiting to be solved. They had finally been put together and were now one. They were connected. What they didn't expect was for the puzzle to be torn apart so easily or viciously.

"Sonny Munroe, over here!"

"Sonny, how does it feel to be back?"

"Sonny, Sonny!" came the cries of journalists as Sonny Munroe in all her glory stepped out of the airport. She had been gone for two long months, that felt as if she had been gone for years. It might as well have been for that long. She smiled as she took in a breath of the L.A air. Sonny Munroe was back.

She covered her face as she fled to the taxi waiting for her outside the airport, ignoring all questions and comments thrown at her. There was only one thing she wanted to do right now, and that one thing was constantly reminded as she looked down at the shimmering ring on her finger.

"It's great to be back," she murmured to herself, smiling slightly. Yes, she loved Wisconsin. It was where she was born and where all her family lived. She loved the snow and the cheeriness. But, there was something about Hollywood which she couldn't pin point. Maybe because this was the place where her dreams first came true, years ago. Or maybe it was the fact that her fiancé lived there. Whichever reason, Hollywood was her home now, and she was glad to be home.

"Where to first Miss Munroe?" the driver asked politely. Sonny grinned. Now it wouldn't be so bad to visit her best friend of seven years first, now would it? They had their quarrels and their fights in the past, but they had been through thick and thin together. From the last episode of _So Random!_ to her unexpected marriage to Grady Mitchell, they had stuck it out together.

" The Mitchell's residence please," she answered and the driver nodded, understanding. Even though she couldn't wait to see Tawni Mitchell and her adorable daughter Lilly, she couldn't hold in her excitement to see Chad. Once he had given her that promise, the two were almost inseparable, and she loved Chad with all the love her heart could muster. They were total and complete opposites, she was the yin to his yang. But nevertheless, they completed eachother.

Sonny frowned as she watched and heard the _pitter patter _of the cold raindrops on the window screen, slowly trailing down it. The one thing she loved about LA, was that it was nearly always bright and warm, but today was quite different. She just shrugged it off, nothing could stop her being happy today.

"Here we are Miss Munroe," the driver said, turning the key and stopping the engine. He gingerly opened his door and stepped out, walking around to the back of the door to swing open the door for Sonny. She took a step out and marvelled at where she was at. Tawni had long since moved on from a comedian and took on a career as a fashion model, one she was extremely good at in fact.

"Thank you George," Sonny said, flashing him a smile. He nodded and stepped back into his car, revved the engine and left Sonny standing there, her eyes wondering across the amazing mansion and the exquisite gardens.

She walked up the pathway, secretly bursting inside with happiness as she pressed a finger to the bell, hoping to surprise her blonde friend.

"Coming!" She heard faintly from the other side of the door. The door slowly opened, to reveal a twenty four year old Tawni Mitchell, her mouth agape in shock and in joy.

"Sonny!" Tawni exclaimed as she pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Tawni!" Sonny exclaimed happily and hugged back. They pulled away from eachother.

"Sonny, I can't believe you're back. I thought you were coming back home tomorrow," Tawni said, opening the door wide enough so Sonny could fit through and take a step into their grand house.

"Well, I was missing everyone so much that I thought coming back a day early wouldn't really matter," Sonny said as she tucked a loose strand of brunette hair behind her hair and took a seat on the brown, leather couch in the lounge.

"You have to tell me everything about your holiday. Actually, scratch that, I mean it is _Wisconsin_," Tawni said with much dislike, sitting on the opposite couch from Sonny with a wooden coffee table to separate the two couches.

"Yeah, it was great seeing all my family again in what felt like forever, but it was kind of boring. Nothing compared to Hollywood. So, where's Grady?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, you know how he is," Tawni smiled and Sonny just nodded. Grady was now twenty five, but that didn't stop him from behaving childishly on the brand new children's show. He loved his job and Tawni didn't complain.

"So, have you chosen your lead bridesmaid yet?" Tawni asked hopefully. Sonny laughed at her eagerness. She had always wanted to be a bridesmaid at a wedding.

"Tawni, you're my best friend. Of course you're my lead bridesmaid," Sonny smiled while Tawni squealed happily out of excitement. " I can't wait to see Chad. Two months seems like forever without him. And it's not long before we're finally married," Sonny said, observing the silver engagement band on her finger with admiration.

"Yeah, but Sonny, are you sure you're doing the right thing, I mean marrying him?" Tawni asked, choosing her words carefully. It had been no secret that Chad wasn't one to stick to long term relationships. He broke a heart every single week, and whilst with girls, he nearly always cheated. Sonny frowned.

"What do you mean by that Tawni?"

"Well, Chad is a heart breaker, everyone knows that. He's just not a faithful person. Are you sure about doing this?" Tawni asked with an amount of care in her voice.

"Look, Tawni. I've been with Chad for three whole years. I love him and I trust him completely," she said with determination. There was however, a tiny voice inside her head, telling her to 'watch out', that he was just playing a game with her.

"I know you love him Sonny. You've always loved him, I can see it in your eyes. It's pretty obvious that he loves you too, but I don't even think loving someone can make him settle down. He's always been a player and you know a leopard can't just change it's spots Sonny. Just promise you'll be careful," Tawni said, seriously. Sonny smiled at how caring her friend had gotten. Vain, but caring.

"I promise Tawni. He'd never do anything like that to me anyways. Now, where's my favourite niece?" Sonny asked. As if on cue, the small blonde four year old came running in, a wide smile across her face.

"Aunt Sonny!" she exclaimed, running to Sonny with her arms wide open, carrying a sheet of paper.

"Hey Lilly," Sonny said, returning the bright smile and giving her a hug. "What have you got there?" Sonny asked, looking at the paper in her small hands.

"It's picture! It's of me and mommy and daddy," she said, happily, handing Sonny the crayon drawing of a tall chubby man with a mop of yellow hair, presumably Grady, a tall thin woman with yellow scribbles for hair and little Lilly in the middle, standing in front of a big house.

"Wow, this is really good," Sonny praised enthusiastically. She almost felt jealous. Tawni had a great house, a wonderful husband, an amazing career and a beautiful little girl. Though Sonny soon shook off the feeling. What was there to be jealous of? She had brilliant friends and a fiancé who would risk his life for her in a heartbeat. Sonny lifted her wrist to peer at the gold watch.

"Oh my gosh, is that the time already?" Sonny asked, quickly handing Lilly the paper of her crayon drawn family and stood up hastily. " It's been great seeing you again Tawni. I'll call you later, okay," Sonny said, before hugging the little blonde girl again.

"Bye Lilly," Sonny smiled as she walked to the door, Tawni following in her footsteps.

"Just remember what I said, okay," Tawni said, cautiously. Sonny nodded, understanding but couldn't help feeling a tiny bit of anger deep inside for her best friend to even mention Chad cheating on her. The quiet voice, better known as her conscious kept calling to her, however. Telling her that Tawni was right, the Hollywood star wasn't ready for such a big commitment.

"I known Tawn," Sonny smiled and walked out of the door quickly, inwardly groaning at her wise words. Just as she thought, the taxi she had previously ridden in was back. The rain that had formally just been a bit of drizzle, was now dropping down harder and she didn't want to be stuck without transportation in such horrible weather like this. Grateful, she ran to the bright yellow taxi, flinging the door open with strength and slamming it shut once she was safely inside, away from the bitter cold of the falling raindrops.

"Thanks so much George, I don't know what I would've done without you and your big yellow taxi," Sonny joked, receiving a few deep laughs from George.

"It's my pleasure Miss Munroe. Where to?" George the driver questioned. Sonny smiled and replied simply.

"Home,"

She tried to concentrate on the world outside the taxi. The Hollywood views that she had missed for two whole months. But the shining glint from the corner of her eye, brought her attention to the sparkling silver once more. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold, and she felt lucky to have the honour to wear it. It symbolised a promise. A promise to always love, to always care. To protect and defend. A commitment. And out of all the girls and women, he chose her.

After ten longing minutes, they had finally reached. She was finally home. George opened the door for her once more, which being good natured, she thanked him for.

She smiled wildly, bursting with joy. Her eyes scanned her house. The exterior was incredibly beautiful, designed by her, every single last detail. Flowers bloomed from the grass, the hedges neatly trimmed.

She ran up to the door swiftly, as not to be pelted with the heavy rain. She fumbled for the metal keys in her purse and twisted it into the lock. The door swung open and Sonny smiled proudly. She had missed this. The house automatically brought her comfort, safety and warmth. Well, usually. This time it was different. She carefully lay her suitcase on the polished wooden floor.

There was something wrong with the house. It didn't seem comforting. Nothing in the house had changed for the two months she was away, yet it didn't seem to welcome her in like it usually does when she steps through the door.

It didn't seem safe. She usually felt like a queen in this house, like this was her castle and absolutely nothing could tear down it's walls. However, she didn't feel protected like she should. She felt aware but weary.

It didn't seem warm. The temperature of the house was normal as usual. But something about it now made her blood run cold, it sent shivers down her spine.

Sonny didn't feel right. However, her happiness to be reunited with Chad after two months overtook these feelings. She decided to surprise him. He didn't know she was back yet, he thought she was coming back tomorrow, as did everyone else.

After searching the whole of the bottom floor, she realised that he wasn't out, his car was parked in the driveway. Therefore, he must be upstairs.

Taking soft footsteps, she quietly crept up the stairs, beaming. She just wanted to be in his arms again, it felt so long.

She stopped just outside her bedroom, when she heard faint voices from within the room.

"You're amazing, you know that," she heard Chad say, quite breathlessly. She hid behind the wall, curious and anxious. Who was he talking to? In their bedroom? Tawni's words came flooding back as she tried to think of a reasonable explanation. Maybe he was just on the phone. Yeah, that was probably it. She sighed a breath of relief and was about to walk into the room and surprise him like she had intended to, when she heard another voice.

"Chad, she could be-" pause "Back any minute now," another voice came. This voice was high and light, like a woman's. Sonny's brow furrowed in confusion. He couldn't possible be- no. Sonny refused to think of that, but found it exceptionally harder to squash Tawni's words to the back of her head.

"Relax, she won't be back tonight. I'm all yours baby," Chad said seductively. This time, it was impossible to ignore Tawni's words from before. They ran through her mind, like echos. She could feel tears prick the corner of her eyes. She refused to cry, she didn't know for sure. He was probably just rehearsing lines with another woman, in their bedroom. It seemed highly unlikely, but Sonny was willing to refuse to believe Chad would be cheating. She took in a deep breath and quietly and slowly opened the door.

Her eyes opened wide in shock, anger, regret and a thousand indescribable feelings. Chad lay in the bed, his lips connected to a dark haired girl, his hand running up and down her sides.

The tears overflowing her eyes ran down her cheeks, just like the rain had run down the window screen before. The warm tears dropped to the floor in a never ending stream of hurt. She ran. She flung the door open angrily and ran outside, away from the house, as far away as she could get. However, not long after, he legs let out and she fell to the floor, her back sliding against a wall, her tears still flowing heavily, though it was hard to notice weather it was just to the rain.

"I-I-I thought h-he l-loved me," she said to herself, her voice shaky and fragile. She couldn't believe her eyes, yet she was forced to. What happened to him loving her, his commitment. Was it all lies? Was his promise a lie? Was he just playing a game with her?

She ripped the silver ring from her finger with anger and threw it with all the power she could muster in her state, which wasn't much. It landed in a puddle on the street.

Everyone had told her. Even her best friend had said it, yet she was too blinded by love to listen. She remembered back to when they were teenagers, he had this game he played. It messed with girl's minds, it tore their heart in two, it shattered them into pieces. But she fell for him. Hard. And now, this was his game. She remembered to when he had first proposed to her, almost a year ago.

_Sonny Munroe and Chad Dylan Cooper sat under the stars that night on a blanket, watching the illuminating colours as the fireworks burst into a multicoloured rainbow. His arm lay around her shoulders, protectively as her head lay on his chest._

"_You know I love you right," Chad said, smiling down at his long time girlfriend._

"_Yeah, and I love you," she said, beaming up at him._

"_Do you ever think about our future together?" Chad asked as he got up from his position on the floor and gently pulled Sonny up with him._

"_Uh, sometimes I guess,"Sonny shrugged, wondering where this was leading._

"_Do you ever imagine a future with little kids, running around our feet happily?" he asked, one hand in his pocket._

"_Well, maybe that could happen. I mean sometime in the far future," Sonny said. "What's with the questions?" Sonny asked, curious._

_Her eyes lit up when Chad fell to the ground on one knee. The hand that was in his pocket pulled out a small, blue square box. It all felt surreal. Chad Dylan Cooper, proposing?_

"_Sonny Munroe. You have made my life brighter, every minute I spend with you feels like I'm in heaven. I know I haven't always been faithful in the past, something I regret. But, since you've come into my life, my world's been turned around. Sonny Munroe, I love you, you're the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?" Chad pleaded, the nervousness obvious in his voice._

_Sonny felt as if she was going to collapse. Chad was giving his life to Sonny Munroe, a vow to be with her through thick and thin, them against the odds. He was ready to give up even glancing at other girls, to be with her. She didn't even have to consider her answer._

"_Yes," she whispered, you could barely hear it. It hadn't even hit her properly yet. Chad waited patiently for her answer, getting more worried by the second._

"_Yes! Yes!"Sonny shouted, jumping into his arms and giving him a warm hug._

"_I love you, Mrs Cooper," Chad smiled, before leaning down and capturing her lips with his in a long, but sweet kiss._

That was the day he proposed. She shouldn't have been so stubborn, she should have listened to the voices around her, her conscious, her instinct. Love got in the way. Now she was stuck in his game, he played her, just like he had played the broken hearted girls before him. She brought the back of her hand to her face and wiped the warm tears away viciously. He wasn't even worth tears.

Through hazy eyes, she picked up her ring from the floor, engulfed by a puddle. She quickly shook it off and slid it back onto her finger. Why did he always have to be in charge of the little game he was playing, why was he the only player? This seemed a little unfair. He needed someone to play against, someone to beat him at his own game, someone to make him lose.

And the Mrs Cooper-to-be could do just that.

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**Should I continue? Please review!**


	2. Revenge Is Bittersweet

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it and have decided to continue!**

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Playing the game**

**Chapter 2: Revenge is Bittersweet

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Sonny Munroe sat on the brown, designer leather couch, belonging to Tawni Mitchell, while casually sweeping away a few fallen tears.

"He cheated on you! He _cheated_ on you. The swine. How dare he, how could he e-" Tawni continued, pacing on the polished floor back and forth. Sonny covered her ears, blocking out all sound, blocking out the world around her. She shut her eyelids slowly, refusing to let anymore tears escape her watery eyes, whilst trying to escape from reality.

When she looked at the silver band on her finger, she didn't feel adoration for it anymore, it didn't mean anything to her. It was now a band of lies, a circle of neverending betrayal, just a ring of metal on her finger. The promise was broken.

She decided to get up, wipe her tears away and stop feeling sorry for herself. After all, she was the one who fell into his trap of deceit after she knew what he was like, she was warned countless times by people who cared and trusted for her.

"W-well, you were r-right Tawni. It's all m-my fault," Sonny sniffed, her emotions taking over, making her voice tremble. Tawni sighed heavily and walked over to her, sitting herself on the leather couch next to Sonny, putting a hand gently on her shoulder for comfort.

"Sonny, don't you dare say this is your fault. You weren't the one who cheated, who went behind your back, who betrayed your trust. He was," Tawni ended, flipping her blonde hair behind her.

"Why did I have to fall for him?" Sonny asked, mainly herself. What was it that made her fall for him so badly? Why did she fall for his charm? Why did she love him?

"Sonny, you don't choose who you fall in love with. If you could I'm pretty sure you wouldn't fall for Pooper," Tawni said, anger laced in her words. If only Sonny had listened to her words when she had first met him. To stay away, beware and never, ever fall for him. But of course being Sonny, she thought the idea was ridiculous.

"Hey, don't call him Pooper. I'm going to be Mrs 'Pooper' soon you know," Sonny said, forcing a small smile to her lips. Tawni's faint green eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was she possibly even considering forgetting about the whole thing?

"Sonny, you're not still going to marry that jerk? Are you?" Tawni said, bracing herself for the answer. Sonny sat up straighter in her seat now that the tears had stopped flowing and now were faint trails down her cheeks.

"Well..."

"Oh, no. No, no,no, no. You can't marry him. In fact, I won't even be your lead bridesmaid," Tawni said, crossing her arms in a huff and sinking lower into the couch, her brows furrowed.

"Tawni. He played with me, with my heart, toying with my emotions. It's like I'm stuck in his stupid little game, and guess what. He's winning. He always wins. And it's not fair, he's the only one playing," Sonny said, her eyes brought to life once more, with a solitary tear sliding down her cheek. She wiped it with the back of her sleeve. She had to force herself to remember that it wasn't her fault she had gotten in this position. It was his fault, he was the villain in her fairytale. And at the end of the day, no one shed any tears for the big bad wolf.

"I just wish he could be taught a lesson. He's hurt so many girls in the past, and now you. The jerk doesn't deserve you," Tawni stated truthfully. Sonny knew she was right, and that she was the only one who could get close enough for her to do it. She was sick of the constant shattered hearts, trailing behind him.

"I never thought that I would be the next one in a long line of girls to have their heart crumbled to pieces. I mean, who does he think he is? I'm not just a stupid little doll who you can control and throw away when it gets old. But, I think you're right. You know what he needs? He needs a little competition," Sonny said, smirking at her words.

"A little competition?" Tawni asked, one perfectly shaped blonde eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. At the moment, he's cheating in his little game. He thinks he can bend the rules and keep on going. Well guess what. I'm going to join his game, play against him, and watch him lose," Sonny said, smiling victoriously, her eyes gleaming bright now with something never seen before. It wasn't anger, it wasn't fear, it wasn't jealousy.

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Tawni said, her index finger to her chin, considering it. "You know what, I like it. The scoundrel deserves it. To finally lose, to learn what it's like when there's an opposing team. But Sonny, think about it. Revenge is bittersweet," Tawni said, knowingly, reaching for the china cup, sitting on the coffee table.

"What do you mean by that?" The brunette asked, once again confused by Tawni's words.

"I mean, sure revenge makes you feel amazing, like your finally getting one over on Chad, teaching him a well needed lesson. But, what if you get hurt in the process," Tawni said, holding the china mug in one hand, taking a small sip of the warm coffee.

"Tawni, I won't get hurt. I mean, at the end, Chad will be the one hurting not me. I'll win," Sonny smiled, unable to see a flaw in her perfect plan.

"Yeah, you'll win. But what will you win exactly? The pain on his face? The misery he's feeling? Or how'bout the nice warm, fuzzy feeling of someone you love getting hurt," Tawni said, scaring Sonny a little with the rarely used seriousness of her expression.

"What?" Sonny asked in confusion. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"As much as you're going to hate to admit it, you still love him. Even after everything he did, you still love him. I'm not going to blame you for that. But because you still love him, hurting him is going to hurt you as well. You two are connected, not by that stupid piece of metal on your finger. If one of you hurts, then you both hurt," Tawni said wisely. Sonny frowned.

"Tawni, do you really think he's hurting now? He doesn't love me. And what do you want me to do? One minute you're all lets get revenge. The next you're all you love him. Make up your mind!" Sonny said, not quite angry but more frustrated.

"As much as I want revenge on Pooper, I think that for your benefit, you should just tell him what you saw. If you get revenge, you'll smile, you'll cheer. But in the end you're just going to be as hurt as he will, "

Sonny sank into her seat, burying her head into her hands, letting the warm tears slip through once more. She kept telling herself he didn't deserve tears, and she believed it. But she wasn't crying because of him. She was crying because of the choices in front of her. The first choice was to tell him what she saw. There would be no telling how he'd react but most likely, he would use his overpowering charm to convince her that it was a one time thing or it wasn't real. She'd be happy, but he'd probably cheat again and she would be stuck in an endless circle. Stuck in the game no one wanted to play.

The other option was for bittersweet revenge. She could toy with him, play with his heart and smash it cruelly on the day that was supposed to be the biggest day of a girl's life. He would feel exactly how it feels to be on the losing team, to know how it feels to be played with and then broken, like a soulless doll. But would it be worth it in the end? Would she really get what she wanted?

Sonny lifted her tear stained face from her soaked hands, her eyes gleaming as they did before.

"Thanks Tawni, I've made my decision. I've got to go," Sonny said, before slowly lifting herself up off her comfortable position and pulling Tawni into a small hug. "Say hi to Grady for me, okay," Sonny said, smiling a small smile before sighing and walking out of the house, shutting the door behind her.

Sonny blinked fast, so as not to shed anymore tears. She was just wasting water on him. She stared at her house. What she saw this time didn't seem like beauty. The exterior felt cold and harsh, the coloured flowers dulled, the hedges overgrown. This wasn't her _home._ How she wished in the two months she was away that she could just go home, this didn't seem like it. Yes, it was the house she'd been living in for a whole year now. But now, it was just a house. All the special memories shared with Chad had been swept away, with his broken promise.

Sonny took a deep breath in and slowly paced up to the front door. She had made her decision, she was going to live with it for possibly her whole life, whatever the pain or hurt she felt after.

Sonny Munroe was willing to forget. She was willing to forget the horrifying scenes that she saw before her eyes. Forget the amount of agony he had caused her. Forget about his little game, forget that it even existed. Because if that was what it had to take for her and Chad to be happy, she was completely willing.

After all, it was only one night, only one mistake. And Chad was a human, humans are almost incapable of not making mistakes.

Sonny sniffed and looked down at the silver ring one last time. The beauty of the sparkling gems were almost gone, leaving an unsightly shine. She gulped, bracing herself. Would Chad tell her the truth? Would she find the girl still there? Would he lie, hiding behind a mask of betrayal?

She lifted her shaking hands, and sluggishly turned the metal key in the lock. The door swung quietly open and she was immediately greeted by the shadowiness and coldness of the house again. Her home was gone.

Sonny sighed as a million different thoughts occupied her mind. Her eyes peered around as she walked around the house carefully, as if the floor would crumble from her feet at any second. After checking the bottom floor, but one room, she carelessly flopped down onto her extremely missed comfy couch, closing her eyes again for just a moment, to escape to her own little world. Until a voice disturbed her thoughts.

"Sonny?" the voice asked, obviously confused. She dared open her eyes to the voice she knew so well, almost too well and clasped her eyes even tighter. Maybe, she thought, if she kept her eyes firmly shut, she could open them again, to find that this was just a dream, a nightmare perhaps. Her husband to be didn't cheat, and she wouldn't have to face her fears. Her eyes snapped open, filled with hope and eagerness that this was only a terrible nightmare.

There stood, in front of her Chad Dylan Cooper. The man that took pleasure in breaking hearts, and so decided to break hers, no matter how powerful and strong it was. She observed him quickly before opening her mouth to speak. She hadn't seen him in two whole months, yet he looked almost exactly the same as the day she left.

His sandy blonde hair neatly framed his face, his bright, icy blue eyes looked back into hers, sparkling. His clothes weren't ruffled or dishevelled. His hands stored cockily in his pockets, as if to make a statement. She had missed him, so much.

"Sonny, you're back? I thought your plane left for tomorrow night," Chad said, fumbling with his words nervously. Obviously hiding something. Sonny, however, rolled her eyes at his stupidity, wondering still if she had picked the right choice.

She lifted herself of the couch she had grown so accustomed to, and launched herself into the blonde's muscular arms, smiling when she felt him wrap his arms around his waist. It felt amazing to be in his arms. She felt safe, comfortable and warm. Warmer than she had felt in anyone elses arms. She felt like the luckiest girl in the entire world, that is until, the annoying glint of her band of broken promises had caught her eye again.

She pulled away, still feeling comfort by his presence.

"I was coming back tomorrow, but I decided to surprise my wonderful fiancé," She said, smiling. However, it felt harder to tug the corner of her lips into that smile, as she had to decide if she was truly happy with her decision. The game would keep on playing, but she could just ignore it, try not to get dragged in, to just be happy. Because, that's all Sonny Munroe wanted. Happiness.

"Uh, yeah, about that. Did you come in this morning? I found your suitcase on the floor when I came downstairs," he said, scratching the back of his head of hair, obvious anxiousness and fear in his words. She inwardly groaned. How could she be so idiotic to leave her suitcase? It was an obvious giveaway. Her brain rambled, searching for a resolution to the mess.

"Oh, yeah...I did come here this morning...but went to see Tawni first," Sonny said, quickly making up a reasonable excuse.

"Oh. Umm, you didn't see anything, I mean, uh, anything different, did you?" His words scattered all over the place as he fought for his dignity and his secret.

Sonny, found it harder this time to forget. If she said yes, what would happen? What if she said no? There were so many possibilities leading on from that simple yes or no question, all exceptionally effective and deadly.

"Like what sweetie?" Sonny asked, her acting skills coming in quite handy. As she looked up into his icy blue eyes, she could almost feel them bore into her own cocoa ones. She swallowed hard as she continued, to pretend. Was this her life from now on. Pretending? Chad breathed a sigh of relief and his arms swung around Sonny's waist again.

"Do you know how much I missed you Sonny?" Chad said, placing a kiss on her forehead lightly. She looked up at him. This was it, there was no turning back after this. She was going to forget, place this horror story behind her. Her eyes scanned him again, stopping at a place she had missed. His lips. She noticed, there was the faintest red painted across them, smeared as if it was not done intentionally.

That was enough. She realised now, her first decision was giving up, letting him win the game without a fight, he was running unopposed. He could waltz in, play with her life, forcing her to resort to begging because the pain was too much to handle. He would pay for what he did, he would lose the game and he would too feel the pain. Even if it meant a lifetime of torture for her, she was aiming for the goal, to succeed, to bring him down off of his throne, once and for all.

She forced a smile onto her lips, frowning inside for knowing the next words to come out of her mouth wouldn't be a complete lie.

"Probably not as much as I've much as I've missed you," Sonny said, looking up into his blue eyes, spitting out a fake giggle. He smiled down at her, he thought he was winning. He thought she was clueless. Oh how wrong he was. Did he not think to at least wipe the makeup smeared across his lips from? Did he honestly think she was so stupid as to not notice?

"Oh, what's that on your lips?" I said, acting oblivious to his cheating ways, and pointing out the small giveaway on his lips.

"What? Where?" He squirmed, instantly unwrapping his arms from my waist and walking swiftly to the nearest mirror. Sonny reluctantly smiled. He had always been vain, and was one of the qualities she loved about him, or unfortunately for her, still loves about him. She bit her lip, knowing that revenge would be harder than she thought.

As he glanced in the mirror, his reflection staring straight back at him, he noticed exactly what she was talking about. He mentally kicked himself for being so obvious. He though sighed in relief again for Sonny being so utterly clueless. But of course, she wasn't. He quickly brought his hand up to his lips, rubbing the red lipstick onto the back of his hand, whilst trying to think up a believable excuse. He tore his eyes away from his reflection staring back at him, and to the brunette.

"Oh, that was nothing honey. Just some..uh...tomato sauce. I had a hot dog for lunch," he said. Sonny rolled her eyes at how terrible he was at lying when it came to her. Her fake smile though, was still painted firmly on her face.

He smirked, happy that she had seemed to had bought his lie.

"So, baby, how about we say our hellos again properly," Chad suggested, walking away from the shiny mirror and closer to Sonny, taking her hand in his. Sonny winced at the word 'baby'. That was what he had called the girl he was with yesterday. It seemed such a shallow word to her now.

He leaned down, his lips brushing against hers. Sonny held in tears, just thinking that she, his fiancé, wasn't the last person to kiss those lips. Before he could turn it into a real kiss, her head jerked away, and her hands pushed him back.

He looked at her, his eyes filled with pure confusion. He raised an eyebrow, as if asking for an explanation, though he so obviously didn't deserve one. She mentally racked her head for ideas, however, none came to mind. She jumped when she heard the loud buzz of the doorbell in her ears. She smiled gratefully, moving out of his embrace.

"I'll get that," Sonny said, flashing him a forced smile, leaving him standing in confusion.

She walked to the door after sighing slightly, and opened it, not caring who it was at that very moment.

"Hi there Ms Munroe, here's your post," Jack, the postman said, his hands full of letters and packages. He was about their age, his eyes dark green with a watery smile and dark ebony hair.

A smile crossed her features.

"Hey Chad, the postman is here," she called sweetly, before turning her attention back to the clueless postman.

"So, Jack. What have you been up to lately," she smiled, bringing her hand up to her chocolate hair, and turning a lock around her finger. Jack returned her smile.

"You know, I've been here, been there, nothing much really," he shrugged, looking into her eyes. Sonny smirked when she heard footsteps approach her from behind. It was time to up her game.

"So, any women in your life recently?" Sonny asked bluntly, as the footsteps stopped to a halt, just behind her.

"No, but-" he said, his eyes scanning her up and down. "There's no telling the future," he said, obviously completely unaware of the currently fuming blonde, watching the scene. She giggled.

"That's true. But, the future's not so far away from now," She smiled flirtatiously, her hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you could...you know, come down to my place in the 'future' and I'll show you what else a postman can do," he said, before winking at her. She released another girlish giggle, completely aware of Chad's eyebrows furrowing together with anger, his teeth clenched together and his fists bunched up.

Her hand on his shoulder, she slowly slid her index finger down his arm, enough to make him shiver. She smiled when she heard a loud cough from behind her. Jack's eyes widened in shock as he looked past Sonny, to see a not so happy Mr Cooper.

"Are you finished flirting with my fiancé? Or will I have to make you stop myself?" Chad questioned through clenched teeth. Sonny beamed inwardly. The game had barely started yet, and she was getting back at him.

"Uh...I...uh," Poor Jack stammered, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Sonny immediately felt guilty for using him, but then again, he was part of the mail species.

"How about this," Chad suggested. "You get out of here by the count of three_ Jack_," he said his name with disgust. Jack took no time to carry through with his demands, leaving the mail on the side table sitting beside the door and almost flew out of the house.

"Bye Jack!" Sonny called to him, smirking, knowing this little gesture would make Chad all the more angry. She closed the door slowly, and turned around to face Chad.

"What the hell was that Sonny?!" Chad asked, furious, his arms crossed against his chest.

"What was what? I was just talking to Jack," she shrugged innocently, her excellent acting skills in work.

"You know as well as I do that that wasn't 'just talking'," Chad said, as he brought his hands up in the air and made air quotations.

"I'm sorry if you felt that I was flirting. But I wasn't. I mean with _Jack_ of all people," Sonny said, chuckling lightly at the thought. Chad walked over to her, wrapping in a warm hug. Sonny had to stop herself from enjoying the comfort of his arms. She had to remember, he was messing her around, playing with her head and she wasn't going to fall this time.

"I'm just being stupid. I know you'd never do anything like that," he said as he pulled from the embrace, however, he held her hand while looking into his fiancés big brown eyes, looking at just how innocent she seemed. How... naive.

"Yeah, I wouldn't dream of playing that card. Because I have an amazing fiancé right here. And I know you'd never do anything to hurt me, would you?" she asked, already knowing the answer to her question, which was quite the opposite of what he would answer.

"Of course not baby. I could never hurt something as beautiful and stunning as you," he lied through his teeth. Her eyes burned with fury. She had the urge to spit in his face right there and then, to find someone who deserved to be with her, someone who would be faithful.

"Why else would I put that ring on you're finger?" He asked, lifting her hand slightly, gaining a better view to the silver band. Sonny glanced at it, she glanced at her broken promise, her permanent band of neverending lies, whichever way you chose to see it. She could barely even look at it without tearing up.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, seemingly with concern. Sonny looked at the ring again and back up at Chad, letting a few loose tears stream down her face.

"Don't worry, it's nothing. It's just the ring, I mean, it's so beautiful, isn't it?" Sonny said, hiding the real reason. She thought it was the opposite of beautiful. Once, it was looked on with admiration, now it was just ugly.

"Yeah, it did cost a lot. But you're worth my all. Remember that promise I made you, on the day I proposed?" he asked. Sonny flashed back again, to the day he proposed, to the day he made the promise. Then she flashed back to yesterday, to the day he broke that promise, whilst breaking her heart in the process. She sniffed, bringing a few more tears to crawl slowly down.

"Yeah, I remember," Sonny said, her voice cracking slightly, something Chad didn't pick up on. He smiled widely down at her. She couldn't believe he had the audacity to even bring that subject up after how much pain he had caused her.

"Well, I meant every word of it. I love you Sonny," He said, holding her hands gently in his. His lies were killing every inch of her heart. It would have even been easier if he had just told her, careless. At least then her heart would break quickly. But no, he had to do it slowly, spreading out her suffering, killing her slowly, all the more painful.

He had always told her he loved her. Were all those times lies? Had he ever loved her? Did he still love her?

"She pulled his hands away from his hastily, scared and vulnerable. Her eyes were full and threatening to pour out any moment now. She turned her head and walked away, slowly climbing the stairs, stopping when she felt his hand grab hers. She avoided his eyes.

"Sonny, is there something wrong?"

"No," she said, forcing out a laugh. "No, no I've just had a long trip. I think I'm going to lie down for a while," she replied. He released her hand, she was grateful because she knew those sparks she felt when he touched her was wrong.

"Oh, okay then. Well, dinner's at ten sweetie," Chad said, before descending back down the stairs. She sighed and walked up.

She reached their room. The room where it all happened. Where she saw them in her bed. She opened the door and looked around. The bed was neatly made, the room in perfect order. It was if nothing had happened. It would be easy to pretend that dark haired girl was never in their bed, to pretend her lips weren't connected to her fiancés, to pretend he wasn't running his hand up and down her sides. It was just too bad this was reality, and it had happened.

Finally alone, she closed the door, letting the tears fall. She sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping her mind from thinking of exactly what they had done in her bed. It was too horrible to imagine.

The sheets were made of silk, soft and shiny though to her it felt bumpy and hard. She stood up, quietly walking to a small sofa placed in the corner of the room. She sat down, placing her feet at the end, and her head on the handrest. It felt exceptionally comfier than the bed did. She closed her eyes, with high hopes for tomorrow. Shopping for a wedding dress.

She finally fell into a well needed slumber, but not before frowning slightly, as he was still ahead in the game.

They say revenge is sweet, but what happens when it turns bitter?

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**Sorry if the end was a bit shaky. I just watched enchanted and after watching a happy fairytale story, it's kinda hard to go and write a depressing one.**

**Please review!  
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	3. A Sweet Lie

**Hey guys! Firstly, I want to say thanks for all the reviews, they were awesome.  
**

**This chapter is dedicated to_ monkey87_ for pushing me to update and finish this chapter.**

**And this chapter also explains a bit from Chad's point of view.  
**

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Playing the game**

**Chapter 3: A sweet lie

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Chad's eyes fluttered open as the rays of the sun seeped through the tiny crack in the crème curtains. He yawned lightly, before turning on his side to study the slumbering brunette. He observed her, how innocent she looked. How _naive_ she was, how _clueless._ He smiled slightly at the thought, as she would never, ever know that she was completely trapped in his game, oblivious to the fact that he was playing her. Nevertheless, he loved her. He didn't know whether it was her bright personality, the fact that she always smiled her beautiful smile. Or the fact that she would always be there for him.

However, this was reality, it wasn't a fairytale, therefore, there were no happy ever afters. Even though she was the best thing to have ever happened to him, he knew she just wasn't enough. Being loved wasn't enough for him. The game he played, breaking girl's hearts, smashing them into a thousand pieces, watching as the shards dropped to the floor was like a drug to him, he was addicted.

He truly did love Sonny, however the game went on. When he met her, there was something about her, something special, something entirely unique. He always brought girls carelessly into his secret charade, tricking them, playing with their minds, entrancing them. But as he looked into her cocoa brown eyes for the first time, something clicked.

He didn't feel the need to play, to hurt. Her bright smile lit up on her face, it was almost contagious. He felt different around her, nervous, feeling the need to impress.

He knew he intrigued her, he knew he caused her to go weak at the knees, to cause her eyes to light up miraculously and for the faintest of blushes to sweep her cheeks. He thought back to the night he proposed. Although she had been his current girlfriend, he had been cheating on her, even before he had proposed. There was always another girl laced into his game.

"Sonny," he whispered quietly into the sleeping Sonny's ear, before kissing her temple gently. He closed his eyes for a second, silently praying that she wouldn't ever find out. There were those moments, those small yet significant moments, when he actually felt a tiny pang of guilt for his actions.

However, he soon shook the feeling off, smirking to himself. She would never find out, and if she did, she would never have the guts to do something about it.

"Chad?" she asked, her eyes slowly fluttering open, adjusting to the sun's light. Sonny snuggled closer to him, and he smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist. He lifted his hand and slowly , but gently pulled his fingers through the silky brown strands. He took in the heavenly scent. He loved her hair, that was one thing he would never want to change. As he stroked through it again, she suddenly froze, her eyes snapping open fully.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she lift her head swiftly off his chest and back onto her pillow, her eyes wide open. He sat up properly on the bed, his mind debating on what was wrong with her.

"Sonny, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously, eagerly awaiting her reply. Ever since she had gotten back from Wisconsin, she had been acting strangely. Distant.

Sonny sat up on her bed, so that she was in a sitting position. Her body was still frozen, her eyes glancing up at the curious man next to her. The man that cheated on her, the man that had taken her heart in his hand and completely crushed it in the palm of his hand without even a second thought. That's when she realised that she wasn't in the place she fell asleep yesterday evening and the silk she felt brush her skin concluded that she was in her pyjamas.

"Umm, Chad, how did I get here? And how did I get in my pyjamas?" she asked as she noticed she was in the bed. The bed where they went behind her back, _Her _bed that he broke his promise, whilst crushing his fiancés dreams of being happy. Chad chuckled.

"I brought you here silly," Chad said, leaning over to kiss Sonny's nose gently. "You fell asleep on the couch and you were still in your clothes so I changed you and put you in the bed," he said simply, shrugging. Sonny's face grew pale at the thought of him changing her out of her clothes. Yes he was her fiancé, but something turned the day she found out. She

felt uneasy, uncomfortable whenever around him. The smooth silk sheets felt jagged against her skin from just knowing that the crème duvet hadn't been changed from when the mysterious _dark haired_ woman had been in their bed.

Chad put a hand gently on her shoulder, looking at her with his blue eyes, seemingly with concern.

"Are you okay honey?" he asked as her face grew considerably paler. She coughed, trying to steady herself as numerous thoughts rushed through her head, making her feel slightly dizzy. She blinked wildly before answering.

"Uhh, yeah, umm...I just feel a little dizzy," she said, not completely lying. Chad moved his hand up to her forehead, turning it around and rested the back of his hand on her forehead, checking for any mild heat increase.

"Are you sure you're okay sweetie? We could always go shopping for your wedding dress some other day," he suggested. Sonny's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten that today was the day they were going shopping for the wedding dress. Today was supposed to be a girl's highlight of running up to marriage. But for Sonny, it would be a day of complete torture, choosing one of the most beautiful white dresses ever seen, only to turn up to a wedding that was nothing but a sham, a con. She didn't want to feel beautiful on the day that would instead of connecting them, break them both apart.

"Uh, yeah. Come on, we have a wedding dress to buy!" she exclaimed, forcing a hint of enthusiasm into her voice and almost jumping up from the bed, which felt as if she was lying on a bunch of jagged rocks, even though it was one of the most comfortable beds on the market.

Chad smiled to himself as he lifted himself of the bed and sauntered into the bathroom conjoined to the bedroom. He slowly shut the door behind him as he left Sonny making the bed. Sonny however waited until he she could hear the metallic taps turn and the water run before sluggishly walking out of the door, tiptoeing quietly and closing the door gently without a sound behind her.

She sighed heavily, feeling significantly better, now that she was out of that room that she dared to call her own anymore, simply because it wasn't. Not anymore. It was Chad's now, and it made her feel cold, unworthy and incredibly uncomfortable, just like the rest of the house.

Sonny searched for her bag, finding it on the kitchen table, mysteriously opened and unzipped. She lifted an eyebrow as she could vividly remember closing her handbag, she never left it open. She rolled her eyes and shook it off, pulling out her phone and pressing speed dial #3. After a short wait of three rings, Tawni answered.

"Sonny?" Tawni's high voice asked from the other side of the line.

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I totally forgot, but we're buying wedding dresses today," Sonny sighed.

"You know what, don't move, I'm coming right over," Tawni said sternly before clicking off the phone.

Sonny frowned whilst putting her phone carefully back into the inside pocket of her hand bag, before zipping it up tightly. She leaned against the kitchen counter, biting her lip and closing her eyes, wishing that this could all go away, that maybe she was just stuck in an unspeakably horrible nightmare and that sooner or later, she would wakeup to a devout fiancé that she could trust and that his tormenting game never happened.

She noticed that she found it incredibly hard to look at his face, especially while he was speaking to her, knowing that every sweet word that poured out of his mouth were complete lies, and this just broke her a little more.

She wondered if she had thought through her plan properly, would he even get hurt? She didn't know if he loved her not, he told her so, but of course she didn't believe him. Would the plan work if he didn't love her? Would he break? And what about the aftermath, what would they do then?

Her mind was so drowned in thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps against the wooden floor and the slight creak of the kitchen door as it opened slowly. When she felt two warm hands wrap around her waist, she instantly jumped, relaxing when she realised the familiar warm hands.

"Are you excited? I'm going to buy you the best dress money can buy," Chad's voice boasted form behind her.

"Uh, yeah, sure I am," Sonny said, not evening bothering to put a little excitement into her voice. Chad swung around to her front and looked down on her with worried eyes again, that she avoided.

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, we could just order it online," he said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

"No, no I'm fine. I just had a nightmare," she lied as she wondered from his embrace and sat down on the wooden chair at the table.

"Gonna tell me what it was about? No, let me guess, it was about me not having gorgeous blonde hair," he said cockily, brushing a hand through his sandy locks with a smirk on his face. He waited to hear her cheery laugh because his vanity was something she would usually laugh at and roll her eyes, but she merely forced a small smile onto her lips.

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you, but Tawni's coming with us," she said, as she pushed her chair back and got up to get a cup to pour herself some coffee. "Want some?" she asked politely as he shook his head.

"What do you mean Tawni's coming with us? You know I've always hated her. She's always had something against me," he groaned as he sat up on his chair. He hated the blonde for one reason, and one reason only. She was dangerous. She had figured out his game long before and countless times had warned girls to be aware of him. Of course, none of them ever listened. They just assumed she was jealous. But now she was his fiance's best friend so he hoped she would keep quiet.

Sonny held the warm coffee steadily in her hand and sat back down on her chair at the table, next to her so called husband.

"Chad, you're just being paranoid. Tawni doesn't even have a reason to hate you. Why exactly do you hate her?" Sonny asked as she lifted her cup to her lips and quietly sipped her coffee. Chad fumbled with his fingers, quickly trying to think of yet another vicious lie to tell his wife-to-be. Sonny eagerly awaited his response, groaning inwardly when his lips began to move and she knew the sound coming out would be a lie.

"Sonny, look, there's no easy way to tell you this sweetie," Chad began, suddenly feeling his seat the tiniest bit uncomfortable. "But, Tawni wants to break us up,"

Sonny's mouth fell open. She literally couldn't believe her ears. Her supposed 'love of her life' would actually be deceiving enough to go as far as trying to break their friendship of years whilst breaking her heart in the process. Of course she knew he was lying, even if she didn't know his disgusting little secrets, she still wouldn't be as idiotic to think he was telling the truth. She couldn't believe how clueless he thought she was, however, this could play to her advantage.

"Chad, you expect me to believe my best friend wants to break us up, why?" She asked, taking another sip of the much needed caffeine boost, whilst Chad fumbled a bit, thinking of another sweet lie.

"Sweetie, I thought you knew," He said as he portrayed a worried yet sympathetic face, hiding his growing smirk and chuckles. Sonny held back an eye roll. "She's jealous of us. You see, back when we were teens, we used to date. But when it was time to let go, she just couldn't. She's always been in love with me and will do anything to split us up. Everything she says to you is a lie, she's using you to get at me,"

Sonny stood there, every muscle in her body frozen. Surly he couldn't be telling the truth. This _man_ had been lying to her from the first time they had met. This man was a lie. A sweet lie that could be so enduring and charming, yet vicious and sly. So why did she trust him? His sharp blue eyes pierced her soft brown ones, almost silently persuading her to listen to him.

"Baby," She winced at the name. "Tawni's never cared about you, it's all an act to get me all to herself," he said. She knew she was beyond stupid to actually trust him, but unfortunately for her, you don't have a say in who you love.

"You know what, you're right Chad," Sonny smiled, as she made up her decision, causing Chad a smirk, happily content knowing there wouldn't be a threat. Because he loved Sonny, and if there was no Sonny, there was no game. If there wasn't a game, he couldn't win. And Chad Dylan Cooper _always_ wins.

Chad took her hands from across the table, quickly lacing his own with her small fingers.

"Sonny, for your own good, I think you should stop going to see Tawni. We both know she's not your friend," He said as he nervously played with her small fingers. He hoped she would comply, as much as it seemed, he didn't want another broken heart.

Sonny gulped before pulling her eyes up to meet his. Was he being serious? This was just all too coincidental. Her hands shook in-between his as she fought the urge to slap him senseless.

"You know what Chad, I trust you. I mean, you wouldn't ever lie to me. I'll stay away from her. Who knew she could be so mean?" she lied as Chad smirked approvingly at her and pulled his chair back, standing up walked around the small squared table and pulled Sonny's chair back.

"Chad Dylan Cooper's always right Sonny. Now, how about that kiss?" Chad asked as he pulled Sonny up off her chair, swinging an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. He cupped her warm cheek with his hand as he slowly leant down. As their lips were about to touch and they would feel the inevitable sparks, Sonny jerked her head violently.

She didn't want to feel the sparks as his lips touched hers because she knew she would just fall into his trap all over again if she did. And she was in it to win it.

"Uh...I need to phone Tawni," She began, not daring to meet his eyes. He raised an eyebrow. "Umm, you know, to tell her to stay away from me. Us," she added as Chad released his arms from around her, to which Sonny felt less protected and Sonny quickly grabbed her handbag, holding her phone and paced out of the room, leaving a confused Chad.

As soon as Sonny heard the click of the door behind her, she let go of the cold metal door handle, it wasn't much of a difference, the whole house felt uneasily cold to her now, and sighed loudly, throwing her head back against the door. She reached for her phone in her bag, quickly tapping the #3, and waited for her best friend to pick up her phone. Sonny held the phone to her ears, biting her lip as she waited to hear the high pitched sound of the blonde woman's voice.

"Sonny?"

"Tawni, you can't come today," Sonny choked out the words quickly, knowing she had to do it if she wanted Chad's complete trust. In order to break someone, you need them to believe you wouldn't ever deceive them.

"What? Why?" The blonde whined sadly from the other side of the receiver. Sonny sighed again.

"Chad said you can't," Sonny said, and she could have sworn she heard a growl at the mention of Chad's name.

"And what, you're actually going to listen to him?" Tawni asked, scoffing.

"He – he said some stuff...and-"

Tawni cut her friend off with her own high voice. "What, he said that he's a cheat?" Tawni chuckled dryly, sarcasm laced in her words. "He's a liar, he always has been, always will be. Sonny, he broke your heart! And you still trust him?" Her blonde friend asked, before letting out a deep sigh. "You still trust him," She said lowly, this time as a statement. "What did he say?" She asked bitterly, spitting out the words. Sonny could almost see the anger swimming in her eyes.

Sonny hesitated, trying to choke out his deceiving words from memory.

"He said you're just using me," She whispered quietly, confused and twirling within a hurricane of emotions. Who was she supposed to believe? Her husband, or her best friend? "He said you were always jealous of us, our relationship. And... that you're a liar," Sonny said cautiously, tapping her long fingers against the phone, as the line went silent.

Her eager ears expected to hear grumbling, shouting or even a _slam_ as she shut the phone down forcefully. However, instead she got pure, high pitched laughter. Sonny's brows knotted together in confusion. She was _laughing_?

"Tawni?"

"I'm sorry—it's just, you actually believe him, after all he's done to you. This is _priceless_! Okay—Let me get this straight," The blonde said after her fit of laughter, still unable to her head around the fact that her friend was already being misguided by the king of lies.

"So, what are you going to now? Are you just going to let the jerk get away with cheating on you?"

Sonny buried her head in her hands, sighing heavily before replying

"You really think I'm going to let him get away with it? I'm not an idiot, I know what he is. I'm just not sure what _you _are. I mean, you practically have the same personality as him, you're like a clone of him. You _are_ him in disguise," Sonny finished, coming into realisation to the fact-or what she thought was the fact- that Tawni was, as Chad had told her, a liar and hated her.

"You know what, until you come to your senses, and open your eyes to see his lies, you can do this without me," Tawni huffed from the other side of the phone, disappointment, anger and concern all showing in her voice.

"_Me_ open my eyes? My eyes are wide open, and they can see everything, including you. I'm not naive little Sonny anymore, I can see you and Chad for what you both are. And you know what, for the first time ever...I think Chad was right," Sonny said as she fought back the tears pricking at the corner of her eyes and breathed in. "Bye," She breathed, ignoring the vain blonde's protests on the other side and pressing her finger down on the end button.

She leant her back against the cold wall, fighting to keep tears from cascading down her cheeks. She was stronger than that. Betrayed by her fiancé and her best friend all in a week? She was just stuck in his web of deceit, struggling to get free, but no matter how much she struggled, she just ended up getting more stuck.

She stood up properly, reminding herself that the supposedly man of her dreams was just next door, a wall away from her. She sniffed back the threatening tears, and straightened out her skirt and purple shirt. He always did say purple looked best on her.

She forced a smile to her lips, blinking rapidly to dispose of any sign of sadness-this was supposed to be her day after all.

She quickly slipped her phone into her bag, remembering to zip it up. Sonny took a deep breath in, and then out again, before pushing open the wooden kitchen door open, to be welcomed be an anxious Chad, sitting at the kitchen table.

"What just happened honey? Who were you speaking to?" He asked curiously. Sonny rolled her eyes. Now he needed to know who she was on the phone to?

Sonny flashed her best smile, easily convincing Chad that everything was alright, there was nothing for him to worry about, yet.

"Oh just Tawni," Sonny smiled as Chad raised an eyebrow, "I told her to stay away, you were right, I mean, she has every right to be jealous of you--us," She said, causing Chad to smirk knowingly._ I mean, she should be jealous right, she only has a caring and devote husband who loves her, a brilliant home and an adorable little daughter._

"You've got that right baby," He said, pushing his chair out and walked over to the brunette. Again, she flinched at the word _baby_, but hoped he wouldn't notice. Then again, if he did notice, he would notice how much his little game was destroying her.

He closed the gap between them, and brought his hand to her face and gently traced along her jaw, while the other hand cupped her cheek fondly.

"You know it's for the best, don't you sweetie?" He asked, fully expecting his fiancé to agree with him, which was confirmed when she nodded. He smiled. It was almost too easy to get her wrapped around his finger. Almost.

As she looked into his eyes, shaking from the closeness of the two, she saw admiration in the blue puddles as they gazed back at her. She could almost laugh at her current thoughts. He really _was_ the 'Greatest actor of our generation' as he continuously quoted when they were teenagers. If he could put that much emotion into his eyes while looking at her, then he obviously was a good actor. Maybe too much of a good actor, it was so hard to tell when he was being genuine or not.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" Chad asked, bringing Sonny into his hypnotizing trance. He stroked her cheek with his left hand, smirking at how she was so under his control and at how she was so in love with him. But, he could kick himself for being so in love with her. It was just unfortunate that for him, being in love just wasn't enough. But he wasn't about to give up love either. He decided that he could have both, that he _should_ have both. After all, he was Chad Dylan Cooper.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sonny looked up at the tall glass door in front of her. She could already see glimpses of white silk and beads and that gave her a twisted feeling at the pit of her stomach, like it was somehow tying itself in knots.

She'd rather wear something black, like at a funeral, when someone's life had come to an end. She didn't see a difference; their relationship was going to come to an end abruptly. White symbolised the start of something new, a new start, a new life. Changing for the better.

She breathed in, doing her best to try to ignore the temptation of throwing up, she was sure the twisting, bending feeling creeping up her stomach was nausea.

"You ready?" Chad asked from beside her, breaking her band of thoughts and bringing her back to the cruel world facing her. Her brown eyes scanned the shop through the glass door again. How she wished the door wasn't glass, maybe then she wouldn't have caught that glimpse of dazzling silk, and wouldn't have realised how much she wanted a wedding.

Sonny opened her mouth to speak, but only nodded, as the words were stuck in the bottom of throat, stubbornly glued there.

Chad smiled down at her, gently pushing the glass door open, causing the small cow bell above the small boutique to ring quietly.

Sonny closed her eyes as she stepped in, afraid of the effect she'd get from seeing the dresses.

"Honey, you can open your eyes," he said, and she felt his warm breath on her ear, that was strangely comforting. She heard his hearty laugh and slowly fluttered her eyelids open.

On hangers in every corner of the shop were dresses. Not just any dresses. Dresses of all shapes and sizes, of all varieties and all designs. They were all white, shining brightly and glowing in their own light. But the one thing these all had in common and what made them different-special- was that the woman wearing any one of these dresses were in love and were about to forever bonded with the love of their lives.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout, she wanted to cry. She felt like she was trapped in a wooden box, slowly shrinking in size, suffocating her painfully and agonizingly slowly. It wasn't fair. She didn't know whether to be overwhelmed with excitement and happiness, or anger and sadness.

"You must be Sonny," A voice said, dragging Sonny from her own little world of thoughts and confusion. She blinked. A woman about her age or less, dressed in professional business attire. A short black pencil skirt hung on her waist, with a crisp white shirt with ruffles. She had piercing green eyes, but unlike hers, were dull and lifeless. She wore cherry red lipstick, which brought out her features. Her dark hair was clasped back tightly into a bun.

"I'm Mrs Murray," she greeted, extending a perfectly manicured hand. "You can call me Portlyn. Mr Cooper hired me as your wedding planner," The woman smiled a warm a smiled.

Sonny eyed the woman's hand before shaking it. The sick feeling at the pit of her stomach grew. She couldn't exactly pin point it, but even though she'd never met her before, something was odd about her. Her warm smile didn't melt Sonny's deep frown.

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" Sonny asked, one eyebrow raised. Something about her felt cold, like her hand had sucked all the warmth and security out of her, yet familiar in some way.

The woman laughed warmly, however making Sonny shiver from the iciness of her voice as it echoed across the small little boutique.

"I don't think so," she smiled. "Oh, and this is my husband, Robert," Portlyn gestured to the man standing next to her, which Sonny's eyes seemed to have missed until now.

He was about her fiancé's height, with gentle hazel eyes, lighter than her own. His hair was a wavy blonde, longer than Chad's. He smiled a soft and warm smile, his lips curved upwards. He was muscular than Chad, Sonny could see that by just looking at him, and had a more built frame.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. My wife and I will both plan your wedding," He greeted with a shake of the hand. She couldn't tell, whether it was her imagination or not, but she sure he had flinched and glared at Portlyn when he said the word 'wife'. Obviously Portlyn hadn't heard the irritated way he said the word or the way he flinched because it didn't seem to have any effect on her.

"Now Sonny," Portlyn smiled at her. "I've already picked out the perfect dress for you. It's in the dressing room, second door to on the right. Chad and I will be in the other room, discussing you wedding arrangements," She said, shooing Sonny to the dressing room with her hands.

Sonny walked into the dressing room, locking the door with a _click_. She sighed heavily. She had met that woman before, but from where? There was something so familiar about her, but what was she linked to? And her husband, Robert, looked at his wife in disgust. What was going on between the two, even though it wasn't Sonny's job to intervene, she couldn't help but be curious about the mysterious wedding planners.

The feeling in the pit of her stomach had completely disappeared now, she could think clearly and her head wasn't smothered in a million and one different and complicated thoughts. She didn't know whether it was all the dazzling wedding dresses surrounding her, when she knew the dress everyone would be gazing in admiration at, was the dress she would be wearing to break a heart of her very own.

She didn't know whether it was Chad. There was something about him that made the whole room feel uneasy, there wasn't a way to explain it, he just made her feel uncomfortable. However, he also made her feel protected and safe at the same time. And she didn't know whether it was the strange couple, who didn't appear strange, nor did they act strange, but Portlyn, no matter how much she smiled, made everything feel frosty and icy.

She turned around, to see the wedding dress, propped up on a hanger next to the mirror. Without even glancing at the white dress properly, she changed and put it on without a seconds thought. It wasn't until she actually looked in the mirror, she saw how beautiful the dress looked on her.

Portlyn was in fact right. It was the perfect dress. It was sleeveless and silk. It hugged her curves perfectly, cascading down her waist and flowing gracefully along the floor. It was classy and formal, yet she felt comfortable and for the first time in weeks...she felt special.

She spotted a glinting object from the side of the dressing room, and sitting there on a side table, was a glittering tiara, sapphire jewels encased in the silver. Sonny's eyes gleamed as she walked up and carefully held the item in her hands. It was obvious that it had cost a lot of money and as she placed it on her head, she felt as if she _was_ worth it.

As her reflection stared back at her, she could almost imagine that day, that special day, the day all little girls dream of-and she would be living out that dream. She could imagine holding the bouquet in her hands, walking in time to the wedding bells and the organ, her father's arm looped through hers.

She would walk up and exchange her vows, then turn to kiss her new husband. That's when it stopped. She imagined Chad, turning, kissing her, after he'd just kissed the bridesmaid an hour before. She imagined him out with another girl on the day their baby was born.

Suddenly, she didn't feel so pretty anymore.

The dress felt uncomfortable on her. The white cloth cascaded down her like a long strand of distrust and lies. The tiara shimmered of the shards of a crushed heart, the sapphires in it reminded her of his hypnotic blue eyes.

She leant her back against the wall, slowly sliding down it, until she was sitting. Her eyes stung with tears, and she let them fall down her face. She looked at herself in the mirror again the blurry eyes. This time, she thought she looked the opposite of beautiful. She felt _ugly_.

Sonny grabbed the tiara from her brown hair, and flung it with force at the mirror in front of her. The silver object flung through the air, slamming into the mirror, causing a crack to trail down it, before the tiara fell to the floor.

She knew she should stop the tears. He wasn't worth them. She had to remember that he was the worthless one, the cheater. She had to be stronger than this if she wanted to win against him.

She wiped her tears on the back of her hand, leaning the other hand against the wall to help pull her shaking legs up. She got herself together and changed back into her own clothes, feeling free when she was out of the silk chains.

She unlocked the dressing room door, ready to face the world again. She pushed it open and stepped out. She walked back into the boutique, only to find Portlyn's husband, Robert, sitting on one of the many chairs in the room, aggravated and irritated.

"Hey Robert," Sonny greeted with a smile, "Where's Portlyn and Chad?" She asked, glancing straight at him, avoiding even looking at one of the numerous beautiful wedding dresses around her.

Robert rolled his eyes, not at Sonny, but at her words.

"Making out with your husband probably," The man scoffed, leaning his head against one arm, anger filling his eyes. Sonny didn't know how to respond to this. Was he telling a joke? She tried her best to emit a laugh, but it came out dryly. She walked over to Robert; her red heals clicking against the boutique's wooden floors. She took a seat in the chair next to him.

"You know, that was pretty funny. I used to be on this comedy show called _So Random!_ when I was younger," Sonny told him, hoping that what he was saying was a joke. A sad excuse for one, but nevertheless, a joke.

Robert sighed, lifting his hand off of his head and turning so he looked Sonny straight in her cocoa brown eyes.

"Sonny, I wasn't joking. Knowing my wife, she'd probably have sex with any guy who glances at her," Sonny listened to the man, intrigued. "I don't even know why I fell in love with her in the first place. I don't know if I'm in love with her now," he sighed loudly again. Sonny didn't know how to take this new found information. Robert was mad at his wife, who Sonny could judge from what he was saying, slept around a lot. And was now, with her so called fiancé. It was just all too coincidental.

"Robert, are you suggesting that my fiancé's probably doing something other than wedding arrangements with your wife?" Sonny asked, faying an innocent and surprised expression. Inside though, her heart was literally crumbling to pieces, just after she's managed to put half of it back together again. Should she believe a man she'd met only half an hour ago? Portlyn didn't look like the kind of woman to cheat. Though looks were deceiving.

Robert was about to reply, when they both heard the sweet ring out the cow bell above the door, as it swung open, revealing Chad and Portlyn.

Portlyn's piercing eyes immediately landed on Sonny, and her lips curved into an instant smile, that brought the room to a chilling temperature.

"Sonny, did you see the dress?" She asked but responded by answering her own question. "You saw it. You love it? You love it! I am perfection," She sang happily. Sonny scanned her, analyzing her. There was something different about her than when they had talked twenty minutes ago. Her clothes were the same, a little wrinkled, but the same. Nothing was different about her skin, but as she studied her face, the glossy cherry red lipstick was almost gone, only the tiniest smudge of red left. And her hair...before it was tied up in a bun, now her dark hair was cascading down shoulders.

Dark hair.

_Dark hair_

_The dark haired girl_

She was the dark haired girl. That's why she seemed so familiar. Her scent was all over their sheets, her cold laugh had engulfed the house, leaving emptiness.

She boiled with anger and sadness. Chad had actually let her meet the woman he was having an affair with? How stupid did he think she was, why did he feel the need to degrade her? And he had the audacity to let her organize their _wedding_? Did he care that little about her and her feelings that he felt the need to shove it in her face?

Pricking at her eyes were a waterfall of tears, but she refused to let them fall. He needed to go down, as well as Portlyn. He needed to stop winning, he needed to lose for once and now she has a player that's willing to play on her side, on her team. She turned to the man sitting next to her.

"You know what Robert, how about we make a deal..."

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**6661 words! Lol, I've never written that much before, ever!**

**Like, hate? Have any suggestions?Tell me in a review!**


	4. Deceiving The Eye

**Okay guys, Firstly, this chapter isn't written by me, but my _monkey87_ who is a lifesaver. Just wanted to say how amazing she is for writing this chapter and giving me some ideas for the next chapter. And all credit for this chapter goes to her =)**

**Secondly, I am so sorry for not updating for so long; writers block is almost fatal to an author in training.  
**

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Playing the game**

**Chapter 4: Deceiving the Eye

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**I asked Robert for a deal. He looked at me with a confused expression. I stared at him, but he still didn't catch on.

"Well. Um, how about, you come with me Chad, and we'll go pay for this beautiful dress?" Portlyn asked and not in the type of way a sales lady would say it.

"Okay." Chad said. A smirk playing across his features. They both left, and then it was just me and Robert. Again.

"Okay, what do you mean by a 'deal'?" Robert asked me.

"Well. I can't stand this anymore! I mean, I knew about the cheating since I got home after my trip. I just didn't know who the girl was, and I couldn't bear, to confront him about it, and so I've been trying to get him back. Like, I know it's not like me, but I was so mad! And now I can't stop it!" I whisper yelled, not wanting Chad and _her_ to hear our conversation.

"And now, there probably kissing in the other room! And that...that... ugh, I don't know what to call him, doesn't even care about my feelings, or how I'm going to feel when I find out about it! It hurts so much knowing that he doesn't love me! It's racking my body and nerves. And because of him, I might have just lost my best friend, who was the only one who knew and was looking out for me!" I said, while hiccupping, and sobbing the whole way through.

Robert came up to me, and hugged me. Not in the lover way, but the best friend type of way. The type to make you feel, and know everything is going to be okay and alright.  
To bad I didn't believe it.

"It's okay Sonny. We'll find a way to stop it. Now, you were saying something about...a deal?" He asked. I nodded my head which was against his shoulder. I pulled away, and we both went and sat down near the dresses, by the entry of the store.

"Well, I was thinking. You married your wife because you love her. Right?" I asked, and he nodded.  
"Well, I want to marry Chad because I _still love_ him, even though he did that to me. But...I want to make him pay. He needs to know what it's like to be...hurt. And, I can't do it alone." I said. I stared into his eyes, watching him sink it all through. Then he smiled.

"I like it. I mean, Portlyn always does this. We must have gotten into a thousand fights about it, and she denied every single one. I say we do it." He said looking back at me. I smiled. But then his face was stern again.

"But first. I think you should go talk to Tawni. And apologize. Even if it wasn't technically your fault." He said. I just stared and nodded.

"I think I should. I mean, she said not to get revenge, and talk to him about it. But me being my stubborn me, didn't listen." I said sighing, and dropping my face in my hands.

"Well, if you want, we can go over there together, later tonight?" He asked. I swear. I think my face must have been glowing. For the past hours, that's all I ever wanted. Just to go over and explain to Tawni.

"I think that's a great idea!" I said.

"Okay, I'll pick you up tonight at...8:00pm? Then just say you're going out with one of your friends, and if he see's you getting into my car, he'll get jealous." Robert said.

"I think that's a great idea. Do we have a deal?" I asked, reaching out my hand for him to shake.

"We have a deal" He said, and shook my hand. Both big smiles on our faces. After we shook hands, we sat down waiting for _them_ to come out.

"You know, Robert. I don't hate Chad. In fact, even though he put me through all of that, I'm still madly in love with him." I said, staring at him. He stared back, nodding his head understanding.

"I can tell. And in fact, I pity him. You don't deserve this, and he is letting something so precious, and beautiful slip through his fingers." He said, smiling at me. I smirked at him.

"Is that how you got Portlyn?" I asked teasingly. He smiled, and chuckled.

"No. We met a _classy_ way if you would call it." He said, with sarcasm through-out the whole sentence. Then he went back to be irritated, and depressed. But he looked like a little boy who didn't get his way. It was funny. _He_ looked funny.

I started laughing for no apparent reason. He looked at me confused.

"What?" He asked. I just shook my head, but kept on laughing. I don't know why, but he started laughing, and smiling to. I guess Tawni was right when she said I have that effect on people.

"What?" He said. Now laughing with me. I just shook my head.

"I'm so-sorr-sorry! It's just; you look so funny when you do that!" I said, trying to stop. I do this all the time. Laugh out loud, at random times.

"Funny when I do what?" He asked. "This?" He asked, and did it again. I just nodded my head, and kept laughing. He just watched me, and laughed with me. When we stopped. We just stared at each other.

"You know, your laugh is so...addicting. Like, if you laugh, everyone in the room needs to." He said.

"Yeah. Everyone tells me that. Even Chad" I said. Looking down. He sighed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked him, looking back up. He nodded.

"Yeah. Portlyn needs to feel pain. Like, not physically, but mentally." He said. We just sat there, planning. It was a good conversation.

"You know, you seem like the big brother I never had. Even f we only knew eachother for...a couple hours." I said. He laughed. Then, the _queen _and Chad came back out and saw us staring at each other, and laughing.

"What's going on here?" Portlyn asked. I looked up at her, and so did Robert. I studied her. All of her cherry-red lipstick was gone, and her clothes looked as if they were being pulled back neatly so no one could see the wrinkles. Her expression seemed to look jealous, and irritated.

_Good!_ I thought. Then I studied...Chad.

He was looking at Robert with hatred. But Robert was looking at Portlyn with disgust. Then I looked at Chad's face. It looked like he had scrubbed his face, really well might I add. But I could still see traces of red lipstick. His clothes were wrinkled. Then, he shifted his gaze to me, as Portlyn shifted her gaze from me to Robert. And I...Looked at him.

Chad looked at me, like I did something wrong. When he was the culprit. I just stared back into his eyes, getting lost in them again. I stopped myself from going any further. I saw Robert give me a thumbs up behind his back. And I knew that was the signal. The signal that meant: 'Time To Play'. I just slowly nodded my head, so only he could see.

"Oh nothing. Robert and I were just talking while we waited for you guys." I said, getting up, and offering Robert a hand. He gently took it, and I pulled him up. I turned and faced Portlyn and Chad.

"You know, he's really funny. And he seems sweet." I said. Then I looked at Portlyn, ready to pull on her cold black heart strings. I faked one of my smiles at her. But Chad was still watching me.

"I bet you love him to death. You're lucky, you know. Don't let him go. Because he told me that he's just as crazy about you, as I think you are of him." I said. That must have been some of the best acting I have ever done. I saw a tiny, _tiny_ flash of guilt in her eyes. But I saw Chad glare at Robert.

I turned around, and picked up my purse, and took out a pen. Getting ready for another plan.

"In fact Robert, if you want to talk more about the _wedding,_ just call me. And I'll pick up. Okay?" I said, writing down my number on a piece of paper I found in my bag.

"Sonny, that's your cell number. Not our house number." Chad said to me. I didn't realize it was this easy to make him jealous. I almost laughed, but kept it in. Instead, I just stared boldly at him and spoke.

"I know. But in case I'm not home, then he can call me on my cell. I _always_ have it with me. So if he has any _ideas_. He can call me." I said, hoping Robert got the clues I was giving. I turned around and gave him a look saying:

_"Did you get what I meant?"_

Then realization kicked into his soft hazel eyes.

Men.

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Um, I might call you tonight. I think I have _big plans_ for this wedding. It's going to be...amazing. Oh, and here's my cell number. In case you need to call me." He said, handing me the card with his name and number. I smiled back at him.

"Okay. Well, thank you, but Sonny I think we should get going." Chad said, and gently pulled on my arm. I just nodded and said good-bye to Robert. But not Portlyn. She looked rather ticked.

_Ha Ha. Sucka!_

When we got outside, Chad was silent. But judging by the look on his face, he seemed mad. Well, payback is not exactly friendly. When we got to the car, we just sat. He didn't even bother to turn the key in the ignition. He just sat with his back against the seat, and was slouching a bit. His ark was draping over the stirring wheel, while his other one was draping out the window. His hair was falling in his face, while he was pouting.

And me? I just sat there, using my best acting skills to look confused, and board. But deep inside, I just wanted to burst out laughing and crying at the same time. I was victorious, because he bought it. Finally he asked me:

"Sonny. What the _heck _was that in there?"He asked me, still looking straight.

"What was what?" I asked, sounding confused. He bought it again.

"All that...I don't know. When Portlyn and I came in, you two seemed like you were having fun, and getting Kinda cosy. Then you started with those words like _wedding_, and _idea's._ Then he started with _big plans_. Like-"

Now was the point where I got really mad.

"Chad Dylan Cooper do you think I'm cheating on you?" I yelled. Well. The plan seems to be working out pretty good. No, the plan is starting out exactly how Robert and I wanted it.

He turned in his seat and looked at me. His look looked somewhat guilty, but angry.

"I don't know! Your conversation sure sounded like it!" He said, rather sharply. I gaped at him. This was the funniest thing. But I controlled my laughter.

"Chad! We were planning something for the wedding! It's a surprise!" I yelled. And what a big surprise it'll be.

"How do I know you're not lying? You could be cheating on me, and without me knowing, you're going to break my heart the night before the wedding!" He yelled. I know that this was all fun and games, but I still felt hurt. So he was allowed to cheat, but I couldn't say anything?

"Chad. I'm not lying. If I was, you would know because my freaking voice goes hi! And what's wrong with working with Robert? What's wrong with do special things for _you_ and _me_ at _our_ wedding? You're working with Portlyn, and I don't mind!" Like heck I don't.

"Like, you were alone with her today for a while, but I don't think your cheating on me!" I yelled, tears springing in my eyes. He looked like he was sick. Or going to be sick. Probably because he thought I was so naive. But I guessed his game right. And he thought I didn't even know it.

" And you want to know something else Chad? I am to _in-love _with you to hurt you. If I did, I would hurt myself." I said with tears leaking down my cheeks.

"Sonny-" He started, but I shook my head.

"I'm going to go for a walk. I can't take this crap anymore." I said, and got out of the car. I slammed the door shut behind me. I started to walk down the street by myself. I couldn't take being in there anymore. Yelling and screaming at someone I love, is just not my thing. Even if they did hurt me.

I heard his door Open, and slam shut behind me. Then I heard him running towards me. No one else was around, sense it was mostly working hours for everyone. At least no one will see the scene.

I felt him grab my arm, and gently turn me around. I looked at him, and he looked at me. He brought his hand up to my cheek, and wiped the tears away. My body was still shaking from the fight, and from the memories that I had before I found out about the cheating.

"Sonny, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up like that. But-" I cut him off but turning around and started walking away again. How the heck did I know he was sorry? And more importantly sorry for what? Breaking my heart by cheating, or for accusing me for cheating on him.

He grabbed hold of me again, and turned me to face him. This time, not letting go, but keeping a hold on me. But not tight enough to hurt me. So being the stubborn me, and wanting the plan to go further, I turned my head away from him. But he turned my head with his hand under my chin to face him.

"Sonny please just listen to me. I know that wasn't called for, but It's just the way you to were talking. It made me mad. And it mad me-"

"Jealous?" I inputted for him. I hoped he would say yes, or this whole fight would have gone to waste.

"Maybe a little. But-"

"Chad, you do that to everyone! All my old guy friends, think that your obsessive and don't want me to hang around with them anymore. I haven't seen Nico in how long? I only see Grady because you know he's married to Tawni! I don't know why you would think that I would ever cheat on you. But it hurts to know that you don't trust me." I said, crying again and looking at him.

"Sonny. I do trust you. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did that to you. It wasn't fair." He said.

No. What wasn't fair was that he could cheat on me without me knowing. That's what he should be saying sorry for.

"Please forgive me Sonny." He asked. I was looking in his eyes. And getting lost in them.

"I forgive you." I said, before I could stop myself. He smiled at me, and I could tell that behind that smile was a trace of nothing but the knowing of a winner, while I'm the loser.

"Now, do you still want to walk, or do you want me to drive you home?" He asked me. I want to walk, but then he might have another spaz. So I just shook my head, and smiled. He smiled back.

Yup. He's got me right under his finger.

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**So this was written by _monkey87 _as I mentioned before. Please please review, it would mean the world to both of us =)**


	5. Dancing On A Battlefield

**Hey guys, I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. I want to say a massive thank you to _monkey87_ once again for writing the last chapter and inspiring me to write this one.**

**And to **ChannyIsBetterThanJemi **I am so sorry I couldn't post this on your birthday, think of this as a late birthday present =)**

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Playing the Game**

**Chapter 5: Dancing On A Battlefield

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Sonny Munroe held the phone against her ear, sighing heavily when she heard the small beep and Tawni Mitchell's voice message.

"Tawni…I know that we haven't exactly been speaking, well that's one way to put it I guess, but I really miss you," She began, holding the phone closer to her ear as she let a small solitary tear slip. The love of her life, Chad, had destroyed the trust she had in him and she vowed that she wasn't going to let something as precious as friendship be cut into pieces. She gulped.

"And I know you probably hate me right now, for trusting him over you; Tawni, you're one of the only people I can talk to; you're my best friend so if you have any spare time on your hands, give me a call." She smiled sadly as she put the phone down, not before erasing the history. She still couldn't believe that her so called fiancé could lie so viciously. And as she watched the hands on the clock tick by, she couldn't help but wonder if the whole situation was her fault.

She had always been the good girl, the gentle girl, the sympathetic girl. Underneath her loud but soft façade, she was just another fragile woman. Two days ago, it was completely obvious that Chad felt some form of jealousy when he saw that playful smile on Sonny's face as she watched Robert with her chocolate eyes. The signs were unmistakably there; the slight way his jaw clenched or the small fire burning in his eyes.

She smiled at the sense of achievement that day, the way she didn't feel happy but she felt triumphant, the way you feel when someone on the playing field trips you over but a few minutes later you trip them in return. The wound is still there, causing you agony and pain; however you are not the only one feeling it.

Her head quickly snapped up as she heard soft footsteps ascending towards her and the creak of the wooden door opening made her panic. She quickly stood up, throwing her phone carelessly into her bag.

"Good morning sweetie, how did you sleep?" She put on a smile, finding that she didn't have to fake the smile, something she internally cursed herself for. Just the sound of his voice felt comforting; she didn't want it to, but it did.

"I slept like a baby," She lied through her smile. "I was just wondering about…" Her eyes darted around the kitchen as she mentally searched for an excuse. Her chocolate eyes landed on a small letter, unopened, on the kitchen counter, wrapped in a small silk ribbon. "Invitations, I was wondering about invitations."

He smiled brightly, walking over to the brunette, embracing her. His arms wrapped around her and his lips captured hers. Reluctantly she closed her eyes. _Why_ did she have to feel the electric spark whenever he touched her and why did that feeling of love always attack her when she felt so vulnerable. The kiss momentarily made her forget and she kissed back; his lips were made for hers. Though when she wondered who else's lips his was made for, she quickly pulled back.

"Sonny, are you okay?" He asked, tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear. He looked down at her with worried eyes and she couldn't help but wonder if the _dark haired girl_, Portlyn Murray, was worth it. Did he love Portlyn? Did she love him? Did he love Sonny? His game was so confusing and her head shook with the million and one questions racing through it. A million and one questions she could never ask and a million and one questions that would never be answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine…just had a little moment there, this whole wedding thing's kind of crazy. Just think about it. In just a few weeks we'll be _married_. Can you believe that?" She asked, though she really couldn't believe it herself. Her smile dropped as she thought about the ceremony little girls dream about their whole lives would never happen for her. Though of course, she had made the choice. She could have had that beautiful day with bells and bridesmaids, but at what cost?

Chad sighed, a small smile on his lips. "I actually can't believe it. Do you remember when we were just stupid teenagers? When I first met you…do you remember that day?" He asked. It would be a crime to forget. Sonny nodded.

"Yep. You were the star of Mackenzie Falls and it was still my first week at _So Random!_" She said, smiling at the memory.

"We've come from that to this. From arguing over musical chairs," They both grinned. "To actually getting married. Wow, we've come far."

Just thinking about it made her smile. When she was blissfully ignorant to his devious ways; when she was truly happy. When they first met, she didn't get that feeling of pure love she did when she looked at him now, they hardly knew eachother. Instead, it was that small schoolgirl crush. She wished it could have stayed like that. Instead she sighed, looking over the happy memories that were soon to be washed away for good.

"Honey, you're crying." He said, wiping a tear away from her cheek.

"Happy tears."

"Well, if you're happy now, then when you open this-" He took the bow tied envelope off of the granite kitchen counter and held it out to her. "-Your name won't even begin to describe how happy you are." He said, with a slightly smug expression. She raised an eyebrow and slowly reached out for the envelope, neatly tied. She looked at it dubiously. The only thing that could possibly even bring her back to the happiness that she felt was if the _lies_, the _secrets_, the _hurt_, the anxiety was all just a horrible nightmare and she'd wake up to find _her_ fiancé, the one who didn't lie and sneak around, the one she could trust.

"What is it?" She asked, fiddling with the silk ribbon. It felt soft against her fingers. He gave her a sly smile and waited for her to open it with anticipation.

"Open it and you'll see."

Sonny carefully undid the ribbon and unfolded the letter inside, placing the envelope to one side. The first thing that greeted her was the sweet but sharp smell of perfume. All too familiar, it brought on another wave of nausea. She gritted her teeth, knowing exactly who the letter was from and instantaneously knew that in no way, shape or form would this letter make her happy. Her eyes scanned across the neatly written words as she held the piece of paper in her hands.

"Read it out loud." Chad said the smile showing in his voice. She frowned but read the words.

"Dear Chad and Sonny Cooper," She cringed. She would never become a Cooper. "We invite you to our anniversary party as our guests. You are welcome to our home; the party will begin at six pm. As one of our graceful guests, you are guaranteed to enjoy," She rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of the invitation. "Yours sincerely, Portlyn and Robert Murray."

He grinned, eager for Sonny's response. He seemed to miss the distant look in her eyes and her skin lightening to an unhealthy pale. She turned to him, throwing the letter to the floor.

"I don't want to go." She said firmly, clearly wiping the grin off of his face. Just the thought of being in the same house, the same room. Her own house, warm, comforting and safe felt like a prison because of _her_.

"Sonny, this is our wedding planner's anniversary party; we have to go." He said sternly yet with a gentle edge to his voice. Sonny stood up, stepping on the letter whilst she did so.

"I just wanted to spend today with you. Just you." She said after rattling her mind for an excuse, any excuse. She scowled when she realised that the excuse was in fact true.

"We spend lots of time together," He shrugged. "What is wrong with you anyway? Ever since you've come back from that dump of a state-" His sudden mood change startled her and her heart cracked that little bit more. Was he that desperate to see Portlyn that he would start insulting her? "You've changed. Do you really think I haven't noticed? You push me away when I kiss you, you cringe when I touch you, your mind's always somewhere else and as for the bedroom department, I'm not going to even go there." He sneered. "You're impossible and you know what, maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding if you're going to be like this."

She stood there, watching him motionless. He had noticed. She wondered if he had noticed the pain in her eyes when she looked at him. They both stood silent for a moment, the things Chad had said playing over and over again in their ears. In sudden realisation, his baby blue eyes, much loved by Sonny, softened.

It was if her heart finally shattered and stopped beating, it was quite a possibility when her heart was already plagued with numerous cracks. Somehow, she managed to breath. His eyes widened as she blinked back heavy tears.

"I'm going out." She whispered, staring into his eyes a second longer then quickly walking out. Chad stood there in the big and empty kitchen, frozen, surprised at himself.

Slamming the door behind her, she ran over to her silver BMW, which Chad had gotten her for her birthday, and started the car. She slammed her foot onto the accelerator and started the car instantly. She didn't look back at the house as she drove off, quietly mumbling to herself not to cry.

Tawni Mitchell wasn't a complicated woman. She always got everything she wanted, whenever she wanted. Even though she had her own dark secrets, it saddened her to see her friend curled up in front of her doorway.

"Sonny?" She asked as she closed her car door, gingerly walking up to her front door where the brunette sat, her legs held to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Sonny looked up to see the blonde staring down at her, curiously, a flicker of sadness in her pale green eyes.

"Tawni?" She asked, bringing her hand to wipe the remaining fallen tears off of her tear streaked face. She frowned; she had broken her promise to herself not to cry.

Tawni brought a hand to cover her mouth as she watched in concern the broken woman before her. Her eyes were drawn to the ring on Sonny's finger, still glinting wildly in the sunshine. She shook her head in complete disbelief, already knowing what happened before she told her.

"Come inside."

Sonny slowly unravelled her arms and legs and stood up, following Tawni through the open door. It might not have occurred to Chad at the time but what he said to her…it hurt.

Sonny looked around through watery eyes. Somehow, the house felt safe, like a haven. There were no signs of Chad, no signs of unhappiness here. She craved stability, somewhere where hurt couldn't get in.

"Sonny…"Tawni began. She truly didn't know where to start. They hadn't talked for two weeks, although she was always there for Sonny. Tawni knew Chad, she knew people like him, people who were winners, or so they thought. They only won the game because they cheated and good cheaters were never caught out. Chad would do anything to win, and Tawni knew that.

Sonny was about to speak, but Lilly, Tawni and Grady's beautiful little girl, came running down the stairs, her blonde curls bouncing as she ran. Sonny smiled sadly. Tawni was so lucky and Sonny had never been envious of that until recently. Tawni Mitchell was married to Grady Mitchell, a loyal and sweet man who wouldn't even think twice about giving his life up for his wife and his sweet little daughter. Grady had never even looked at another woman since he set eyes on Tawni.

Lilly looked up at Sonny, her green eyes curious but content. Sonny even envied Lilly, a six year old. She wished life was as simple as when you were a child.

"Mommy, why's Aunt Sonny sad?" Lilly asked innocently. Sonny had to grin at this. So _clueless_ and _naïve_. Just like Chad thought she was. Sonny sniffed and bent down to hug the little girl.

"Sweetie, I'm not sad," Sonny said, ruffling Lilly's little blonde curls. "I'm just a little tired. But, I bet if you showed me some of your pictures it would make me a lot happier." Lilly nodded eagerly, pulling her along the corridor and up the stairs. Sonny turned back to look at Tawni who stood still near the front door, a small smile on her face.

Sonny followed Lilly to her room, the room all little princesses had. She knelt on the carpet beside her.

"Here Aunt Sonny. Here's one I drew of you and uncle Chad. It's real pretty." Lilly grinned a childish grin and handed the picture to Sonny. The drawing was of a woman, Sonny, on the left and a blonde haired man, Chad, on the right. In between them was a bright pink heart.

"Wow, this is amazing." Sonny praised with a smile. However, behind the bright smile, she was almost ready to collapse. It scared her how much a child's drawing could affect her. The picture was of how Sonny and Chad would have looked before Sonny stumbled on his web of deceit and lies but what really irritated her was that it was still the way she looked at him now. Her finger traced the pink heart on the page softly.

"Aunt Sonny?" Her high voice broke Sonny out of her trance of thought. Sonny shifted her gaze to the slightly confused six year old.

"It was really nice seeing you again sweetie, but I have to go." Sonny said. Lilly groaned in frustration.

"But you just got here. And I want you to see more of my paintings."

"I promise I'll come back and see some more." Sonny smiled warmly as she stood up and reached for the doorknob but before she could reach the door, Lilly ran over to her, holding the picture of Chad and Sonny up.

"Aunt Sonny can you keep it please. I drew it for you and uncle Chad." Sonny smiled and took the paper from her, not daring to peek at the picture, at the big pink heart and the smiles they were giving eachother. She closed the door behind her, waiting to hear the quiet click of the door before scrunching the picture into a paper ball and shoving it recklessly into her pocket.

She walked downstairs, grabbing her bag and taking out her phone. She searched through her contacts until she reached Robert's number. She wanted to hurt Chad; she wanted to see the pain on his face, the agony in his eyes. She pressed the phone to her ear with a steady hand.

"Hey Robert, it's your anniversary party today, right…I kind of need a ride there, do you mind?" She asked.

"_Anniversary_," Robert spat. "We both know the real reason for this party." Robert sighed. She grimaced at the amount of pain in his voice, she knew he didn't deserve to live in fear of his wife sleeping with other men behind his back, though she couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that she wasn't the only one being lied to, it gave her a sense of hope.

"I'm sorry," Sonny breathed out. She didn't need to imagine what he was going through; she was living it. "Maybe we could get our own back."

"Maybe we could." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "I'll pick you up; I'll be there in five."

Sonny clicked the phone off and was about to put it back in her bag, not before erasing the call history, when she spotted Tawni's reflection in the mirror. She turned to see the Blonde woman leaning against the wall behind her, her arms folded against her chest.

"Robert? Who's Robert?" Tawni asked monotonously, her face sketched with confusion. Sonny's averted her gaze to the floor, this was the first time Tawni had said something more than one word to her within two weeks. A stream of guilt washed through Sonny but she stayed silent, her eyes firmly on the floor.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me b-" The sound of an obnoxiously loud car horn outside the house interrupted her. Tawni's eyebrows furrowed.

"It's probably Robert, I should go." Sonny said quietly, sadness tracing her features. Tawni nodded and watched as she twisted the door knob and open the door. Before she could walk out, Sonny felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to see the blonde smiling brightly at her.

"Sonny, I know that we're not really on the best terms right now but whenever you need me, I'll be right here." Tawni promised, a promise Sonny knew that she would keep that promise, unlike a certain blonde haired man.

She smiled warmly in response and walked out of the door, her eyes wondering across the Mitchell's beautiful front lawn and driveway, finally landing on a cherry red Volvo. She waved her hand in the air, he smiled and waved back. She walked over to the car, swiftly opening the door and climbed in. Before a word was spoken, the engine grumbled to life and the car was soon on the road.

Sonny secretly yearned for those small moments, the moments where there were no thoughts constantly rushing through her head because when she was with Robert, she almost felt normal. The feeling wasn't affectionate in any way, just the feeling that there was someone else who understood, someone you knew you could trust; an ally in the vicious game.

"So…no congratulations on our anniversary?" He mumbled, his voice bitter and laced with sarcasm with a hint of sadness. She watched him with sympathetic eyes and again averted her gaze so she stared ahead.

"Robert, I'm so sorry…I can't believe it's your anniversary, three years…three long years." She sighed. Just three long years of deceit. She questioned if she didn't choose the path to hurt Chad as much as he hurt her, hopefully more, that their relationship would be identical to Robert's, if that day in, day out, she would have to live in a fake, pretend world, where she'd always have to wear the heavy mask of happiness. He chuckled dryly, snapping Sonny from her row of thoughts.

"Well at least you're not just going to stand there like an idiot for three years and watch your dignity get trampled on. I really admire you for that." He turned to her for a second, flashing a grin, his eyes swimming with something Sonny couldn't yet comprehend.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the windows rolled down letting the fresh air rush through as they drove. Sonny turned in her seat, the forgotten crumped drawing pressed against her jean pocket made it slightly uncomfortable to sit. She groaned, grabbing it from her pocket, suddenly wishing that she hadn't. She unravelled the drawing, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles in the paper. It made her angry; it was more like a drawing of Grady and Tawni. The happy smile on their faces and the baby blue colour crayon used for Chad's eyes. The eyes she remembered were a merciless and frosty icy blue.

"What have you got there?" Robert asked, his eyes glued to the road in front of him. She looked at the drawing and then to Robert. She sighed unhappily before glancing at the drawing again.

"Oh nothing, it's just something Tawni's daughter gave me, it's nothing." She said firmly, trying to convince not just Robert, but herself that it was really just _nothing_. She stared at it one more time, her eyes wandering over the messily drawn lines before gripping it and tearing it straight down the middle, through the pink heart, separating Sonny and Chad. She grinned as she held the part with in her hands and threw it out of the window. She watched as it gently glided with the wind behind her. She scrunched the remaining piece, the piece with her and half the heart back into her jean pocket.

"We're here."

Sonny quickly scrambled out of the car, following Robert to the front door. To say that the house was beautiful was almost an understatement; she could see that a lot of money had been spent on the house. Though as soon as she walked in, there was a small feeling of emptiness lurking at the pit of her stomach when she looked around. The colours were vivid and the obviously expensive paintings on the wall were beautiful, but it was like any trace of personality had just been wiped away.

Balloons were tied to almost everything in the house, there were a few people scattered around the place, enjoying a glass of champagne and the soft background music; the party clearly hadn't started yet. Sonny grimaced, the scent of the strong perfume reeked through the house, and the sickly, sweet perfume was something she had quickly learned to love to hate.

Robert turned to look at her for a second, unaware of Sonny's flushing pink cheeks as his eyes traced every feature of her body.

"You need a dress…Portlyn has loads upstairs, c'mon, I'll show you." Robert said, taking Sonny's hand, leading her up the wide, elegant spiralled staircase before she could say anything. She frowned but didn't say a word.

He led her to a small walk in wardrobe, she rolled her eyes, it was exactly something a woman like Portlyn Murray was expected to have.

"I'll just leave you to it." Robert said politely, taking the opportunity to leave Sonny in a room with probably over a thousand dresses.

She grabbed the first one in view; she didn't care enough to search through every one of the dresses. She didn't want to draw attention to herself; the key to the game was to play it subtly, so no one suspected that she knew. She had no choice but to slip the dress on. It was a sweet lilac colour and it stopped just below the knees.

When she glanced at the mirror and saw her reflection, she realized that she actually looked pretty in the dress, probably not as pretty as Portlyn of course, but pretty enough. It made her feel confident, brave, and ready to face anything. Though she wondered that maybe, just maybe, looking half as pretty as Portlyn would attract his attention. That was after all what he wanted and it was exactly what Portlyn was.

She searched the room, not having to search for very long to find a large makeup box. She smiled bitterly as she took out some lip gloss, smearing the pink substance across her lips.

She sighed; she was never one to wear makeup. Chad had always told her that she was a natural beauty and that's one of the things that he loved about her. Sonny decided that that lie was as big as the glistening lie on her finger. Chad wanted someone like Portlyn, glamorous and undeniably pretty. But if that was what Chad wanted, he was going to get what he wanted. She threw the lip gloss down and took out some mascara next, spreading it heavily over her eyelashes. Eyeliner followed and foundation after that.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, the makeup heavy on her face. She looked fake. Sonny smiled, it was perfect. It felt like her own mask of confidence and victory, though it was void of all happiness.

"Sonny are you in there, it's been nearly an hour." Robert knocked from outside, his voice concerned. She grinned.

"I'm coming!" She called back to him. She took one last glance at the mirror; an unrecognizable girl glanced back at her. Perfect.

Let the game begin.

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**Reviews would be awesome =)  
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	6. The Playing Field

**Here is the next chapter! Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth, yet.**

**I want to say happy birthday to _OneDream 2Dream, _hope you're having a great birthday and make a wish!**

**Guys I'm sorry if this is a bit rushed and confusing...I have got to lay off the gummy bears. ;)  
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Playing the Game**

**Chapter 6: The Playing Field

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Chad Dylan Cooperstood there motionless. Had those forbidden words just escaped his lips? He stared through icy blue eyes at the woman in front of him, watching as she grew paler and her eyes lost that glint he loved.

As much as the blonde loved to play around, he was far from stupid. He _knew_ something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out _what_. His icy blue eyes softened into pools of water as he realised the sharp edge in his tone and the hurt his words contained. He didn't want to hurt her, in fact, he was protecting her.

He watched with sad eyes as she walked out of the room, her soft footsteps against the wooden floor uneven. His muscles seemed frozen, like he was unable to move. He knew that those words were just one step further to the deadly truth and the truth wouldn't just hurt her; it would kill her. He finally sighed and ran a shaking hand through his blonde locks. He'd become a servant to his own game and as much as he wanted to stop, he just couldn't. Other women on the side were like a drug to him, the forbidden apple and Chad Dylan Cooper couldn't resist a challenge.

He carefully brushed through his golden locks, making sure every single strand was in place. A tall figure stood behind him, a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"You know, I like your hair so much better messy." She said, whilst weaving her slender fingers through his hair, causing him to grimace and roll his eyes before brushing his tousled hair again.

"Just zip up your dress." Chad responded bitterly. Portlyn huffed out of frustration but started buttoning. She sighed…she knew he was just using her, she knew she wasn't like _Sonny_; she knew he loved Sonny. That was something that she couldn't ever compete with, she knew that, but she couldn't understand it. She was so much prettier, so much more willing.

Chad gave himself one last hard stare in the mirror, the sparkle in his eyes lost. Portlyn was nothing to him, just an extra on the side like all the women before her. He was disgusted with himself; he wished he didn't have a conscious but he did, unfortunately for him, he did. The fact that his fiancé wouldn't go anywhere near him only added to that distress.

"Are you done yet?" Chad asked, tearing his eyes from his reflection to peer over his shoulder at Portlyn. His eyes glided over her; she dressed in a glamorous blue dress that hugged her curves perfectly. He couldn't deny that she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her eyes glittered playfully at him. "Do you like it?" She asked in anticipation, standing up to give a better view. "Perfect for an anniversary party, right?" She smiled brightly. Chad just rolled his eyes; he had gotten what he wanted, he couldn't be bothered to humour her. Without a second glance, he stood and walked out, not even the least bit curious to how Portlyn would have responded to this action.

Faint music could be heard from downstairs. The party had already started. He groaned, this meant he was late, that meant _she_ was late and with Robert already downstairs, problems would certainly arise. There was that tiny voice of suspicion in his head telling him that Robert knew. But then again, what did he care. As long as Sonny was clueless and blissfully ignorant to his whole charade, he was happy.

He walked downstairs, a small smile on his face. He looked down at the people who acknowledged him as he descended, all ready to greet the great Chad Dylan Cooper, a star of his time. He was positive that Sonny wouldn't attend. His words had pushed her away. He sighed at the thought of this but continued to walk gracefully until he reached the bottom of the steps.

"CDC, my man, long time no see!" A man he recognized as Ferguson, his old co-star from Mackenzie Falls, greeted, pulling him into a one armed hug.

"Ferguson, is that you?" Chad asked, pulling away from the one armed hug. "You look so…different. So how's life?" He questioned, mildly interested.

"Yeah, I'm a family man now. I've got two kids and a wife and my career's finally starting to go places. Who knows, next year I might be the next Brad Pitt, or Johnny Depp." Ferguson smiled widely. As Ferguson continued to ramble on about his life, Chad instantaneously regretted trying to make conversation with his former friend and his eyes were lured to a blonde woman in the corner of the room.

Her back was facing him, though he could see that she was obviously bored out of her mind as she leant against the wall, sipping a glass of bubbling champagne.

"Excuse me Ferguson." Chad quickly dismissed the man. A smirk formed on his lips as he walked towards the strange blonde woman. This was a party after all, and it was time to have some fun. He dodged through the slowly accumulating crowd but as he got closer to the woman, there seemed to be something eerily familiar about her. He quickly washed the thought from his head.

"Hey there, I was just wondering-" The blonde woman turned around to face him.

He stopped dead in his tracks. This wasn't just any blonde bimbo; he had history with this one.

"Chad?" She asked, calmly and casually, almost as if she expected him, which she did. Inwardly he was panicking; his eyes turned a dull grey, full of fear. There was only one woman that Chad Dylan Cooper feared and that was for one reason and one reason only; she was dangerous.

"Tawni," He gulped. She smiled slyly at him while he straightened himself out. "What are_ you_ doing here?" He asked cautiously.

"I was invited of course," She grinned, obviously entertained by the fact that he feared her. She shoved the bow tied envelope into his hands.

"Why would Portlyn invite you?" He scowled at her smiling face. He _hated _being manipulated, especially by the witty blonde that could easily destroy him.

"She didn't, Robert did. It is his anniversary as well you know."

Chad growled and through the envelope to the floor. "Cut the crap Tawni, why are you here?" Tawni's eyebrows furrowed. "I warned you to keep away from us. Remember, if you expose me, I'm bringing you down to hell with me." She seemed unaffected by his words.

"Oh really Chad. Because you know what it looks like here, it looks like _I_ have the upper hand. If I tell her about what you're really up to every time you're out of her sight, she'll never forgive you." She said, her baby green eyes sparkling mischievously. They were both aware of the whispers among the crowd as they watched the two blondes; they were anticipating a fight. Chad grumbled and grabbed Tawni's arm and pulled her to the dancefloor, wrapping his arms around her waist. Tawni raised an eyebrow but put her arms loosely around his neck. The whispers stopped and the crowd lost attention.

"Well Tawni, if I tell Sonny what a fake you really are, what you've been hiding from her all these years, Sonny will never forgive_ you_. Seems like you're just as dammed as I am." He whispered, gaining confidence when the smirk vanished from Tawni's face.

"You really underestimate Sonny, don't you? She's smarter than you think. And you know what, she'll figure out what you really are by her-" She stopped speaking abruptly, her gaze fixed on the grand staircase. Chad unwrapped his arms from her waist and turned around to follow her gaze.

"What is _she_ doing here?" They both whispered together, both of them bewildered by the brunette walking down the staircase, arm in arm with Robert.

She was dressed in lilac, the sweet colour complimenting her eyes. He couldn't help but notice though, even in the amazing, and surely expensive dress, she didn't look quite as beautiful as she normally did. Makeup. She never wore it and she never needed it, so what was it doing slapped across her face in heavy layers? His eyes quickly darted to the man whose arm was looped through hers and a feeling he only knew too well rushed through him.

He glanced at Tawni, who looked just about as confused as he was. He gave her a warning look, a silent look that told her to keep her mouth shut, or everything would be destroyed, including Sonny. Tawni leaned over, cupping her hand over his ear.

"You have lipstick across your lips." She whispered. He wiped his mouth across his sleeve. Chad was actually relieved that she told him this; it meant Tawni understood that if she told his dirty secret, he'd tell hers.

They both watched silently as Sonny and Robert made their way down, Portlyn following behind.

The party had officially begun.

It was one thing to feel pretty, and it was whole other thing to feel beautiful. Sonny felt beautiful as she walked down the grand staircase, arm in arm with Robert. As she walked, she could already feel twenty pairs of eyes, their gaze fixed on her. She smiled widely as she reached the last step. Her eyes wandered across the crowded room to find a mop of sandy blonde hair.

Perfect.

"So, are you ready to start this thing?" Robert whispered into her ear with a small smile. Her eyes glanced up to meet his deep green ones.

"Oh, I'm ready alright." She said, her lips moulded into a smirk.

Robert stared at the brunette; something about her had definitely changed and whatever that was, he liked it. "You know, before we start this thing, I just wanted to say, you really do look beautiful." He said with a large smile, a very familiar sound of his heart pacing. Sonny shrugged off the compliment; being told that she was beautiful by anyone but Chad was completely pointless. The slowing dress she was wearing had already tricked her into thinking she was a beauty. She was no Portlyn and she knew she would never be.

Hey eyes narrowed at the sight of another blonde head of her hair next to Chad's perfectly brushed mop. It was a woman no doubt and Sonny couldn't stop the anger from flaring up inside of her.

"C'mon." She grumbled, quickly lacing her fingers with his, dragging him through the crowded room. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw who that exactly that blonde woman was. A wave of nausea hit her and before she could open her mouth to speak, though she doubted any words could come out anyway, Chad had scrambled over to her, his words merging into what seemed like an apology.

"Sonny, I am so so sorry for what I said this morning, it was stupid and I didn't mean any of it. Sure we have troubles, like any other couple, but we'll get through those bad times," He fumbled over his words, his blue eyes softly pleading. "Please forgive me."

She raised an eyebrow; she wondered what exactly she should forgive him for. The time when he had slept with Portlyn and probably countless other girls before her, the time when he got down on one knee and promised his heart to her, or could it be the time when they first met and he stole her yogurt. She doubted that it was any of those options.

She watched the blue eyed man when her eyes flickered to his blonde companion. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, for all Chad knew, She and Tawni hadn't spoken in months, all due to him of course.

"Chad…Tawni, what are you doing here?" She addressed the two blondes. Tawni timidly held up an invitation, before excusing herself from Sonny's penetrating brown eyes. Tawni already felt guilty enough, Sonny's complete trust in her just made the swollen ball of guilt grow.

The two stood there, staring eachother hard in the eyes. Chad's blue ones were silently begging, whilst Sonny's were a unreadable; she would finally put those years of acting to good use, though she didn't need it. The makeup made her feel like a different person all together, more confident. She decided that she would definitely wear it more often.

The silence hardened into heavy tension in the air.

"Hey, Chad, how's it going?" The voice sliced through the tension. Chad's eyes darted to Robert and he bit his lip as a jolt of anger flared through his body. He was where Chad should be. His hand was interlaced with hers, his thumb absentmindedly stroking the back of her hand. He doubted that Sonny noticed.

He gulped at Robert's outstretched hand. Chad promised himself that he wasn't going to cause any trouble. It was his anniversary, the least he could do was behave; sleeping with his wife made Chad feel not in the least bit guilty, but it made him feel like he owed him something. And of course, Chad wasn't one to apologize. It made him feel weak, vulnerable, like he had lost. The sooner Sonny forgave him, the better.

Chad shook Robert's hand firmly, before snatching it back like he had just touched a burning flame.

"So, Chad, what are you doing here?" Sonny spoke for the first time that day since the morning. His bright eyes lit up from hearing her voice and he let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, they are planning our wedding," Chad chuckled lightly. "And Portlyn's an old friend." He tried to ignore the fact that Robert had now progressed from stroking her hand, to caressing her arm.

"Oh really," He replied, a grin spread across his face and a new light in his eyes, "I've known Sonny for quite a while as well…did I forget to mention that. You could say we were best friends I guess." He shrugged casually. Chad didn't bother to fake a smile. Sonny's expression was still blank and unreasonable; it was like her body was just a shell and no one was home.

Chad's gaze was now on Sonny, a plan forming in his head. Until now, Robert was just a harmless, but annoying bug that he could just bat away. It seemed to him like this bug had transformed into a venomous spider overnight.

"Uh, Sonny…do you want to dance?" Chad asked, unsure of himself and unsure of her.

She clasped Robert hands tighter and forced a fake grin to her lips, "Well actually, since it is Robert's special night, I promised him a dance."

Chad truly despised the way Robert's eyes lit up at that line, he'd always been good at reading people; creeping inside people's heads. And at this moment in time, he could see the clear admiration as Robert looked at Sonny; it sickened him.

He watched through icy blue eyes as they danced, his hand resting gently on her waist, her hands thrown over his neck. He just couldn't shrug off the feeling that soared through him. Robert gripped her waist, closing the small space that gave Chad the hope that the seemingly strong friendship they had wouldn't evolve into something more.

Her smile was what broke him though. He was an actor, he could lie and deceive and he knew a fake smile when he saw them; the only problem for him was that was a _real _smile. The smile she usually exclusively reserved for him.

"Chad…" A worried voice and a soft hand on his shoulder brought him back from his thoughts. "Chad…your hand…it's bleeding."

Chad's eyes darted to the glass he held in his hand, now crushed into shards, the remains of the drink at a puddle near his shoes. A sharp stinging pain hit him but it was nothing compared to the feeling as Robert's hand subtly slipped lower than her waist. The dreaded emotion had built up to near exploding stage.

He didn't think, he let the jealousy control his heart and mind as he strode over to the dancing couple.

The two stopped dancing instantaneously as they watched Chad. Sonny's lips curled into a slight smirk.

"How dare you touch her!" Chad's cheeks were a flaming red. Robert's green eyes widened as Chad's hand curled into a tight fist, his knuckles a pale white. Before Robert had a chance to protect himself, Chad's fist had collided with his face and a satisfying _crunch_ was heard.

The feeling that had been boiling inside him started to falter, but only slightly. The anger soon flared up inside the blonde again as he watched as Robert toppled to the floor.

The whole room had turned silent; the only sounds that broke it was Robert's groans as he rolled lay on the floor in pain. Chad was breathing heavily and he felt all eyes on him, judging him. Within seconds, Portlyn was crouched at his side, dabbing his bleeding nose with a damp napkin.

The slightest smirk tugged at Sonny's list, her plan was finally beginning to take place. And for the first time ever, she felt like she had finally achieved something, that the ball was in her court. Her smirk faded, however when another groan of agony from Robert brought her back to reality. She frowned and turned to Chad, suddenly angry. She walked slowly up to Chad, her heels clicking against the marble floor, everysingle one of the nosy partygoers watching her everymove.

Sonny raised her hand and she slapped him across the face, just as he suspected. He just stood there frozen, he knew he deserved much more than that.

She brought her lips to his ear and whispered, "You'll be sleeping on the couch tonight." And walked back over to Robert, leaving Chad surrounded by a circle of gossiping people. Portlyn moved back and watched as Sonny whispered comforting words to her husband. She merely rolled her eyes, she thought Sonny was trying to schmooze him, though she didn't really care. He knew and she knew that that their marriage was as good as over.

Portlyn stood up, and clapped her hands, "Okay everybody, everything's fine. Cake and food will be served in fifteen minutes by our caterers." She announced with a wide, fake smile. The crowd mumbled and reluctantly went to talk amongst themselves, no doubt about the sudden events that took place before them.

Whilst Robert had been taken to find a first aid box by Sonny, Portlyn grabbed a motionless Chad's arm unpleased with how the day's events had unravelled. The façade of her happy marriage was becoming as transparent as glass.

"Chad, what the hell is wrong with you?" She asked, glaring at a still frozen Chad. She didn't know what to do, when a few tears escaped his eyes; she had never seen Chad cry before. He was tough and he played by his own rules, so to see someone effect him that way made her angry. Sonny was making him begin to doubt himself; Portlyn hated that.

"Port…I'm losing her." Chad choked out. Portlyn held back an eye roll. It was always about Sonny. Portlyn too his hand and led the distressed man to a quiet room with just a few old chairs and a table, escaping the noise of the music and mumbles in the party room.

They sat down and Portlyn put her hand on his thigh, comforting him. She furrowed her eyebrows as he let out a few more tears and brought a thumb to his cheeks, wiping them away.

"Chad…look, at me," She used her index and middle finger to raise his chin, looking her straight in her almond eyes. "Come on, you're Chad Dylan Cooper, you're not losing her okay. Believe me; she worships the ground you walk on." He barely even registered her words, lost in his own little world, piecing the pieces of a puzzle together.

"Portlyn, you don't understand, okay. You don't, so stop acting like you do…you can't love anyone or anything so don't try to give me advice." Chad said angrily, shoving her hand off of his thigh. Portlyn's eyes hardened, whatever she tried, she couldn't make him happy. She knew he loved Sonny, but she'd always wondered if he was in love with her, really in love.

"You know Chad; I'm trying to help you. It's not my fault that you mess around with any other girl you see." She said, folding her arms in front of her chest, her almond eyes firmly on the blonde. She knew she hit a nerve there, but his little game he liked to play with random women made no sense. He claimed, time and time again that he loved her, doesn't love mean being faithful? Though of course, Portlyn wasn't one to comment on faithfulness.

"It's not like that," Chad muttered quietly. "I can't help myself. I see Sonny, the girl of my dreams. I see her and I know that I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Then I see someone like you," Chad wrinkled his nose slightly and Portlyn blinked back a tear. "I see someone like you and I can't resist. It's like when you've got the chocolate cake and that cake's all you've ever wanted…and then a cookie rolls by and even though you've got the cake, you can't help but eat the cookie anyway." He explained as Potlyn nodded absentmindedly along, examining her manicured nails.

"But lately she's been so different. I can't touch her, I can't kiss her…anything, ever since she's come back from Wisconsin…she's been so distant. Maybe something happened in Wisconsin, maybe she's getting cold feet about marrying me, I don't know. I just want it to be like it was." Chad ended with an exasperated huff, putting his head in his hands, thinking that maybe if he did that, the world would return back to normal. Portlyn held back a sigh; did Chad have to be so idiotic and clueless. She knew Sonny knew. Sonny wasn't exactly inconspicuous about flirting with Robert and she could see in Sonny's eyes that she feels an ounce of what Robert felt for her.

"Well maybe it's got something to do with that blonde bimbo she always used to talk to…maybe she said something," Portlyn suggested. Chad shook his head at the idea.

"No, Tawni wouldn't say anything; she knows that if she tells her, she would jeopardize her friendship."

Portlyn smirked and started kissing her neck, Chad was too locked up in his own little world to object, "Well…I suggest you get her back," She mumbled inbetween kisses. "Make her fall for you all over again, wrap her around your little finger."

For the first time in a long time, Chad actually paid attention to Portlyn, the dark haired girl that he'd always had a thing for. He was going to make sure that she got to the isle. She marries him and they live happily ever after. He was snot going to lose her and if fear was what was going to keep her with him, then so be it.

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**I had a lot of trouble with this, but I guess I got there. =)**

**Sorry if it had a lot of mistakes.**

**Please Review =)  
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